Fragments of Utopia
by Yuka-san
Summary: Lloyd survived only to find out his nightmarish vision of the future became reality. He was soon haunted by his past that led to his obsession for a utopia: a wingly without identity, without a tribe, a sinner seeking for redemption, an outcast seeking for a place where he could belong. Lloyd/Wink. Adorable Lloyd and Meru friendship.
1. Prologue

Yay! An LoD fic in 2019! I have been having this idea for a while. I simply feel this is suddenly relevant now… Especially with sequel rumor coming up.

LoD © Sony

Prologue

_11000 years ago..._

"Keep pushing, My Lady!" the human slave anxiously supported her mistress as she struggled to give birth to her child.

The wingly writhed in pain. The condition was far from ideal, especially not for a wingly noble like her. However, there was no other option. Had they found out about this child, they would kill it just like they killed the child's father. So, there they were, in a small hut in the middle of nowhere. There was no bed or other furniture, only a pile of straw.

"Almost, My Lady! Keep pushing!"

She couldn't hold her screamed. That was when she heard a baby's cry.

"It's a boy, My Lady!"

She panted heavily, relieved that it had ended. The slave cut the umbilical cord and brought the baby to her side for her to see. The human woman called her husband to come inside. The male slave came in and congratulated her. Despite the human couple's joy, she looked at her newborn son with sadness.

She put her fingers on the baby's forehead and chanted in a language that the slaves didn't understand. A mark glowed on his forehead before it disappeared. With that, his power was sealed.

Poor child… He would lead a life of hardship, unfit for a wingly… No, unfit for any species! Nobody deserves to live in slavery. However, it was the only way for him to survive. He had to avoid wingly registration in the birth capital in order to not reveal his parentage.

Perhaps, it would be better for him to just die rather than to live the life fate had in store for him. However, she would like to believe in the prophecy. That one day, it would come to an end. One day, all species would be free. One day, humans and winglies would live side by side as equal. This child was a part of the prophecy. He would break the barrier between the two species.

She and her husband didn't believe it before, the prophecy. However, she could sort of see it turned into reality. Ironically, it was self-fulfilled. This boy would grow up to love humanity because he would be a part of it.

She tried to get into a sitting position and cast a spell on herself to hide the pregnancy bump. She then kneeled before the couple. The slaves were startled at her action.

"My Lady, what are you doing?!"

"Please… Take him…" she begged them.

"W… what do you mean?" the female human asked with a confused look.

"Take him away with you. Somewhere safe…"

"But how about you?"

The wingly shook her head, "It would take me some time to recover. I can't delay you. If I survive, I'll try to find you."

"Don't say that, My Lady! You will survive! You will go with Young Master to somewhere safe!" the maid insisted.

"Please… There would be no safe place for him among winglies, but nobody would expect him to hide among you. I have cast a spell. He would grow up to be like you. No magic. No platinum hair. Nobody would find out who he is."

The slaves were horrified. It's true, nobody would expect a wingly child to be raised among humans, but…

"But…, My Lady…"

How could a wingly allow her child to suffer the fate of humans?

"I'm sorry to burden you, but I have no choice." she said with tears in her eyes, "Or perhaps you could just leave him somewhere in human neighborhood… Let some human couple take him…"

"No! No, My Lady! How could we do that?! You and Master are our benefactors." the male slave quickly assured her, " It's just… Are you sure? He will grow up as…"

_A slave..._

"Young master deserves better..."

"I believe in him. I believe in you, in your fortitude. You are a strong creature, capable to withstand any hardship. He will grow to become like you." she said as she looked at her son affectionately.

"Very well… I promise you we will take good care of him," he said.

"Thank you…" she cried, "Thank you…"

"Anything else, My Lady?"

She shook her head, "No, you should depart now."

"Oh! What should we call him?"

She was about to tell them the names she had prepared with his husband for the child, but she threw the idea away.

"A human name… I'm not familiar with them…"

The couple looked at each other, not sure what to do for a moment.

The man suddenly got an idea, "How about Lloyd?"

"Lloyd?" the wingly gave the human a questioning look.

"It means grey-haired so that he could have a connection to his origin." the man explained.

The woman nudged him, "Can't you be more creative?"

"It's not bad! It also means sacred, just so it's not too obvious." the man defended his choice.

The wingly smiled a bit seeing the couple fight.

"Lloyd…" she mumbled the name.

Neither black nor white. Neither wingly nor human.

"Lloyd... would suit him well…"

* * *

Tell me what you think, so I know I've got a reader.


	2. Chapter 1

LoD © Sony

Chapter 1

Pain…

He knew he was dying. That's alright, though… He told himself. He had lived for too long. His parents, his sister and her… They had died a long time ago. Human's lifespan was nothing but a blink of an eye to him. That's why he closed his heart a long time ago. He didn't want to handle another loss of loved ones.

He had thought about killing himself before. The idea was shelved. His pride wouldn't allow him to do that. He then decided to live the life destined for his kind.

His kind?

He wasn't sure that's the right word. He couldn't even enter their settlement legally, because he was unregistered. He didn't belong in a small forest among those who looked down on his loved ones.

He left… Back to the human world, seeking dangerous challenges, living a careless life, hoping it would shorten his lifespan. So, when that man, Diaz, came again, he gladly accepted his offer. Rather than searching for a place where he could belong, he would create it himself. He somehow knew he might die in the process without seeing his Utopia, but it would be worth it.

In the end, it was all for naught...

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in Mayfil, the death capital. So, it was safe to assume he was dead.

The soul capturing machine was no longer working. Still, he was a child of that terrible era. He was drawn to this place especially since it was close by.

He had heard some stories about death. Wingly deities determined the destination of the deads. However, with Mayfil no longer functioned, he thought he would just disappear. Now, he wasn't sure what fate had in store for him.

He decided to explore the place. As he went deeper, the surrounding was getting darker. Yet, he kept going as if he was bewitched. It took him some time to realize he was lost. He cursed his own carelessness. Why was he always like that?

However, he soon remembered that he had been dead. He chuckled. Had he not always been prepared for this? He was a horrible person.

_Murderer!_

He suddenly heard an accusing voice. He looked around, but only found darkness.

As he continued to wander, he realized he was walking on a puddle. Somehow, he knew it wasn't water. He could tell from the smell.

_Murderer! Traitor!_

The voice was louder this time. Suddenly he felt someone, or something, grabbed his ankle.

Great! A rotten wingly corpse!

He kicked the creature with his other feet to get rid of it and continued his journey nonchalantly. However, soon he felt another grab on his ankle… or two… or three…

_Where are you going, traitor? _\- asked a decayed body with an eye dangling out of its socket.

"None of your business." he answered coldly.

_There is nowhere to go. This is where you belong._ \- another, which skin has almost entirely melted, stated.

"It's not yours to decide."

_Oh, but a sinner like you has no other place to go._

_A wingly doesn't kill his own kin. You are a monster!_

A screech came out of the corpses' decaying mouth as Lloyd used his magic to throw them several feet away.

"You know I am. Stay away from me."

However, that didn't seem to scare them. He was soon surrounded by them, taunting him, touching him. He cast more magic spell to eliminate them, but more keep coming. Until he was surrounded by dead wingly corpses. He panted heavily as he looked at his handiwork. It disgusted him. He quickly walked away from the scene. All of this made him feel ill especially when the voice started to speak again.

_What kind of wingly are you?_

_You are the worst!_

As he continued to walk, they kept appearing around him and he kept killing them. If killing is the right word to describe it. He grew more and more tired until finally, he ran out of magic.

_Enough killing?_

_Bloodthirsty monster…_

"Shut up!"

He wasn't like that. He tried not to kill anyone. The dragoon was a mistake.

_You dislike killing humans, but you have no problem with winglies, don't you?_

He looked at the voice owner and saw a face familiar to him. Half face, the other half was destroyed.

_Tsk...tsk… Who would have thought you are a wingly? You even killed your fellow wingly to save a worthless human woman… I wouldn't have tried to kill you had I realized you're one of us. You behave precisely just like those barbaric creatures._

Lloyd sneered. His hair color should make it obvious.

Bardel shot a fireball at him, but he managed to dodge it. He had run out of mana, though. He needed to deal with him physically.

Bardel summoned another fireball. Again he dodged it, but this time he quickly charged towards Bardel with lighting speed, grabbed his face and slammed his head to the ground several times until his skull cracked, blood splattered to his face.

_Monster..._

_It feels good, doesn't it?_

_No, it's not like that! _\- he screamed inside his own mind.

He looked at his blood-soaked hands. Laughters echoed in his ears. He stepped back from Bardel's corpse and ran away.

_Lloyd… _

_Lloyd… Why did you leave me?_

A familiar female voice calling his name. Had it not been her, he would not have stopped. He owed her an apology.

"I'm sorry. I was deceived." he said with his back facing her.

Lenus ran toward him and hugged him from behind.

_I miss you._

He wasn't sure how to react. He didn't have any special feelings for her. However, he owed her a lot. He had also once considered spending the rest of his life with her in the case which they both survived to see the new utopia. Maybe, it's time to fulfill his promise.

She moved to his front and cupped his cheeks with her hands. Lenus was just as beautiful as she used to be.

_Promise me you won't leave me._

"I p…"

_Lloyd, stop!_

He stopped when another female voice echoed in his head.

_What's wrong, love?_

He was statued. He knew that voice although he wasn't too familiar with it. Why did it stop him?

_Stay with me, love…_

Lenus moved her face to his own and was about to kiss him when that woman stabbed her in the back with the Dragon Buster and ripped her body apart. As her body split into two, so did the darkness and he was back in Mayfil. On the ground was a corpse of huge scorpion being ripped into two parts. He looked at the woman in front of him, still stunned by what had just happened.

"Don't you wish to thank me? Had I arrived a bit later, you would have stuck in that place for eternity with a giant insect." the dark dragoon said nonchalantly.

"Why are you here?"

_Well, isn't that obvious, she is dead._ \- he thought.

"I'd like to offer you a second chance. Go back to your previous life or stay here as a wandering soul while becoming food to demons such as the one you encountered earlier. I can assure you it won't be pleasant." she said.

"How about you?" he asked.

"My journey has ended."

"So, has mine."

Like her, he had simply lived for far too long. He had enough.

"Yet, you can't move on from this one." she stated.

"And you? Why are you still here instead of moving on." he asked.

"I'm just here to save you."

"Save me?" he laughed, "Wow! Thank you! I didn't know I have someone who cares for my well being." he said mockingly.

She rolled her eyes, "Don't flatter yourself. I'm doing this because my partner could not move on unless you do."

Burdened by the past, a soul couldn't move on to the afterlife. Whatever the afterlife was.

"He should do it himself instead of having you do it for him." he said spitefully.

"The power of the dark dragon spirit gives me a higher degree of freedom to explore the world of death. Also, he is afraid you wouldn't accept the offer if it was from him."

"And you have no problem telling me that."

She just shrugged.

He turned his back towards her, "Tell him, I bear no grudge."

His words touched her a bit. She didn't expect them at all.

"Come!" Rose signaled him to follow her.

They walked until they reached a bridge that stretched across a wide river. Rose handed him the Dragon Buster.

"The bridge will bring you back to the world of the living. I have done what was asked of me. Now you are on your own." she said as she turned her back and walked away.

"What if I don't want to go back? What if I have enough with life?" he asked.

"It's all up to you. However, if you stay, you will forever be plagued by nightmares such as the one you faced earlier."

"Go back to life, screw a bit more, add more nightmare to the future."

Rose could sense the bitterness in his every word. She was all too familiar with it.

"I won't force you if you don't want to, but I hope you consider giving yourself another chance."

"Why?" he asked.

"Perhaps, because we are kindred spirits."

Lloyd laughed. Neither of them was amused by the idea. Nevertheless, it was true. They were monsters, cursed by fate to live a long, solitary life.

"Had we met earlier, maybe life would have been slightly less unpleasant…" Lloyd smiled bitterly.

Rose couldn't help but also wonder what life would have been like although she knew better than wallowing in the past. Besides, she was content with the last part of her journey.

"I don't regret it and I won't trade it with another. You, too, can find your happiness."

Happiness?

"How could I dare to dream of such a thing? The only thing left for me to do is to pay for the destruction I have caused."

"Then make amend through living instead of here, where your suffering means nothing and changes nothing!"

For some reason, the words irked him. He didn't mind suffering, but he had had enough of others walked all over him.

"If you want me to return so that your man can rest in peace just say it! There is no need for all these sweet talks."

"That's not what I mean…" Rose felt slightly guilty. She didn't expect he was that sensitive, "Lloyd…, I once thought myself as a monster who didn't deserve happiness, but I was truly happy in the end. Compared to these bloody hands, yours are relatively clean."

He didn't answer.

"I don't want to make you feel that you are forced. I just feel a false hope is better than no hope." Rose added.

"I'm not sure if I can agree to that."

She looked disappointed. It somehow upset him. Maybe… Just maybe… He could absolve a tiny bit of his sin by bringing a bit of happiness to others starting with this woman.

"I won't promise you, but I will consider it. You can go and tell your man not to worry about me. I don't hold any grudge toward another victim of circumstance."

With that, she nodded thankfully and left.

* * *

"Done." she told the man who had been waiting for her somewhere unnoticed.

"Thank you, Rose." Zieg said as he approached her.

Rose shook her head, "Don't mention. He told me to tell you, he doesn't hold any grudge."

"Do you think he will choose life?" he asked.

"I don't know, Zieg. Life hasn't been kind to him. He has had enough of it." She answered with a hint of sadness.

She remembered the event before she saved Lloyd. Zieg simply couldn't move on.

* * *

"_The dark dragoon had the ability to explore the realm of death. I could only rely on you, Rose."_

"_But, why?" she asked, "It's not that I don't want to help. I would do anything for you. But why do you care so much about him?"_

"_Guilt…" Zieg smiled bitterly._

"_But it's not your fault. You're being controlled by Melbu Frahma."_

_Zieg shook his head, "Do you remember Regina?"_

_She had forgotten many people from her past, but Regina wasn't one of them because her fate foreshadowed her own. _

_She had been one of the few survivors of Vridiff, a small village that used to be a resistance base during the dragon campaign. However, it was sacrificed for strategic purpose. It was Zieg who made that cold decision because Diaz didn't have the heart to do it. The incident ended with a massacre known as The Widow Maker because most of the men were killed. That was if they were lucky. The unfortunate ones were captured, brutally tortured and executed. Diaz was outraged and blamed Zieg for the massacre. However, deep down, he had been grateful that Zieg had taken the burden away from him. Zieg, meanwhile, could never forgive himself for making that necessary sacrifice. It remained a thorn in the flesh for him. _

_However, what made Regina stick in her memory was her personal story. Regina had been betrothed to one of the key members of the resistance, the group's best fighter. A very fine young man, people said. However, a few days before the wedding, the incident happened. Her fiance was captured. He didn't survive torture. Regina fainted when she saw his corpse being displayed in public as a warning. They literally had skinned him alive. His name was..._

_Shit..._

"_Don't tell me this Lloyd is Regina's Lloyd..."_

_Zieg looked away with sadness._

"_How?! How could that possible?!"_

_Regina hated winglies with passion. Especially after the tragedy. She would go hysterical when she saw a wingly. How could she betroth to one?_

"_I don't know, Rose. When I first met him as Diaz's body double, he was very much human with dark hair and blue eyes."_

"_And that's why he thought you were Diaz…" _

_Rose scoffed at the thought her fiance had ruined the life of one of her best friend's fiance. Twice. She knew it wasn't voluntary. Yet, she couldn't help but feel what happened to Zieg and herself was karma._

"_Still, I can't understand, why would a wingly do that?"_

_It sounded too much like a silly story Meru would tell them that would horrify her entire clan. It was simply impossible. Particularly, during that time. Even without the law that penalized romantic relationship between the 2 species, she knew everyone found it disgusting. Especially for winglies who viewed humans as nothing but beasts._

"_I guess that everyone, including himself, didn't realize he is a wingly. He used to be a slave fighting in Colosseum."_

"_Colosseum?!" Rose was surprised. Colosseum was basically a death penalty. _

_Zieg nodded, "He used to be pretty famous. They called him the Black Devil. At one point, he managed to take out a wingly. That was when they decided to remove him for fear that he might inspire rebellious thought. The group in Vridiff managed to rescue him, though."_

_Rose had heard of this so-called Black Devil although she had never seen him herself. The talk about Colosseum was enough to make her feel nauseous. She always tried to avoid it. She knew this man was pretty infamous for doing shady jobs. _

"_I didn't know Regina's fiance had such an interesting…. Resume…"_

"_Yeah, his identity was mostly kept secret. There are too many mysteries surrounding this man such as why did he live as a human?"_

_Winglies had strong solidarity among their kin. They had never failed to take care of their orphans. It just didn't make sense that a wingly child was raised as a human. That would be a scandal for a species that consider themselves as superior._

_They also didn't turn against each other. Not even the Ularans. While the Ularans had sided with humans, they avoided direct confrontation with other winglies. Rose was surprised when she heard the story about the queen abduction from the sacred sister. When she heard Lloyd killed another wingly, she thought he had gone rogue and abandoned his wingly's pride. It had never occurred to her that that pride might never exist._

_When Rose first saw him in heroes competition, he reminded her of the winglies of her past. However, she quickly dismissed the idea that he was a wingly. He simply didn't act like one. There was something about him that was human. Later on, she had thought it was due to spending too much time in the human world. This was something that had never come across her mind._

"_This wingly is definitely special, which is why I believe he can be brought back to life. He has maintained his youth for 11000 years. That's not something an average wingly was capable of. I can sense Melbu Frahma also found him intriguing. He spent years searching for him."_

"_He did?"_

"_Yes, it seems Melbu Frahma planned him to be the father of the new bred winglies in the new world, but he…"_

"_Rejected the idea…"_

_Zieg nodded._

"_He's a decent man…" Rose admitted._

_She suddenly felt some sort of kinship with the man who used to be an enemy. 11000 years is a very long period of time even for a wingly. However, Lloyd was conditioned to live as a human. The pain of watching your loved ones grew old and died while you, yourself, remained the same was something she understood very well. A person in such condition would soon shut their emotion because there was a limit to handle such loss. Still, he didn't turn against the world that treated him unfairly. _

"_If that makes you happy, I'll do it, Zieg."_

_Zieg pulled her into his embrace, "Thank you, Rose! Thank you!"_

"_It's just… I'm not sure he would want to live longer…"_

"_Which is why you are the only one who could convince him._

* * *

"Is there anything troubling you?"

Rose snapped out of her thoughts. Zieg looked at her with concern.

"No. It's just there are so many mysteries about Lloyd."

Zieg nodded, "I think we should go, though."

"Yeah."

Zieg took her hand and they walked away.

* * *

Lloyd stared at the bridge that could lead him to the world of the living. Should he just stay and remain a restless soul for eternity? Or should he go for what could possibly be another disappointment?

It should be easy. He should try his luck. And yet, he was afraid of the uncertainty. The tension could be more torturous than the punishment itself. He knew what was waiting for him was retribution. He had no doubt he deserved it. Yet, he couldn't help but secretly wished for the happiness he didn't deserve.

That desire led him to walk through it without realizing his own action. That was until he arrived in front of a huge door.

_This must be the door that leads to the world of the living._ \- he thought.

He nudged it a bit. It didn't budge. There was no handle or keyhole. Knowing it wouldn't open for him, he abandoned the idea of living and just sat in front of the door. It must be his fate to stay here and he saw no need to fight it.

However, he suddenly remembered the sword Rose had left him.

"Oh…, you gotta be kidding me…" he mumbled to himself.

That was it. The last barrier. There would be no turning back once broken. However, what's he going to do in the land of the living?

Somehow, he remembered the sacred sister he had used to get the Moon Mirror. Her action had truly struck him that he didn't know how to react. He couldn't look her in the eyes after that. He knew he had to apologize, but words simply couldn't come out. He had told himself he would apologize once everything was over and surrendered himself for judgment. That's the only thing he could do.

He stood up and faced the door. He had to do it. He had to return and make amends because he knew he had received forgiveness without earning it. That didn't sit right with him.

He swung the Dragon Buster and broke the door to pieces allowing light to embrace him.

* * *

Phew! This is a long chapter.


	3. Chapter 2

Thanks to Right What Is Wrong for the review. It's nice to know somebody still reading LoD fic these days. ^^

I updated the summary. I'm also thinking of changing the title, but I'm still not sure.

Italic indicates flashback or thought

LoD © Sony

Chapter 2

_The caged conquered embraced each other tightly to keep themselves warm. They had spent the previous night outside in the cold and it looked like this night would be no different. Except they knew the storm was coming. They might freeze to death if they remained like that._

_Unfortunately, their conquerors didn't seem to care. The only mercy they received was some dirty blankets made of burlap. They tightly held the coarse fabrics around their body. The poor fabrics were not enough to defend them from the cold, though._

"_You, winglies, deserve it for what you have done to our family!" they said. _

_The little girl shivered in his arms. He tightened his embrace, trying to transfer his body heat as much as possible. _

_Yes, he hated these silver-haired creatures for what they had done… But what did this girl have to do with all those things? _

_What did he have to do with them?_

* * *

When he opened his eyes, Lloyd found himself lying on a makeshift bed inside what seemed to be a cave.

"Oh, you are awake!"

He turned his head to the owner of the voice, a young male wingly. He tried to get himself into a sitting position. The wingly quickly kneeled beside him and helped him sit. The good news for him, he didn't feel any pain from his last battle with Melbu Frahma. The scenery that greeted him confused him, though. He was inside a cave among other winglies. There were many makeshift beds like the one he was sitting on scattered on the ground occupied by what seemed to be some depressed winglies.

"Where am I?" Lloyd asked. His voice was raspy from disuse.

"Ilgu, why don't you get him a drink?" an old wingly who was sitting not too far away from him spoke to the younger wingly.

"Yes, elder." the youth nodded respectfully.

He got up and quickly fetched some water from a jug nearby on a bowl and handed it to Lloyd. Lloyd thanked him and quickly drank everything. He then repeated his question.

"You are in our hiding place." the old wingly answered.

_Hiding?_

"What's going on? Is there something wrong?"

Now, the old man frowned at that question.

"You aren't aware of the day of disaster?" the younger wingly asked.

"Wh...what disaster?"

Both winglies looked at each other in confusion at Lloyd's question.

The old wingly then explained, "Seven years ago, the Signet Spheres were destroyed by some evildoers and it affects our magic power. We no longer have the power to maintain the barrier between our world and the humans'."

_Seven years?!_

Had he been away for that long?!

"You don't know that?" the youth asked in surprise.

Lloyd shook his head. Again both winglies looked confused.

"Could you tell me more about what's going on?" Lloyd asked.

Somehow, he had already imagined the scenario. He was simply missing the details. Well, he had always predicted this would happen a long time ago. He knew the winglies would eventually lose their power to maintain the barrier and when that happened, it would be a disaster for them, which was why he had sought a utopia. However, he didn't expect it would begin with the destruction of the Signets, which was partially his fault.

From the winglies, Lloyd found out that he was in Tiberoa. The winglies he met were refugees from the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. There used to be a settlement there until it was attacked and destroyed by humans.

"In the beginning, everything was fine. Winglies and humans started to mingle. We even exchanged some ambassadors. However, as the world was becoming more open, problems started to grow..."

The elder sighed before he continued, "One day, a wingly girl was found dead in a gruesome way. Some hot-headed youths believed it was the humans who did it and sought revenge."

"It's not just those boys, all of us know it's the humans who did it!" a male wingly cut in.

As the elder told his story, some other winglies had started listening and joined the group. Lloyd could sense their distress and anger. It seemed like they felt the need to vent them whenever it was mentioned.

"Despite our magic power has significantly weakened, we are still capable of doing a lot of damage and that was exactly what these youths did. They attacked humans' settlement in Donau, causing several casualties. The human king demanded us to hand over the boys, but many were against it since the humans also didn't hand over the human who killed the girl."

"Were they handed over?" Lloyd asked.

The old wingly nodded, "Yet, it didn't stop things from getting worse."

"There were too many conflicts afterward. The human king, Zior, tried to play down the conflicts by suppressing the information. However, it only led to dissatisfaction among the population. Eventually, a coup happened and Zior was overthrown." the younger one explained.

"A coup?"

A lot had happened when he was away…

The youth nodded, "By a general called, Geoffrey. The man used the people's animosity towards winglies to gain support. His influence goes far beyond the border. Mille Seaseu is also under his control now."

"But Mille Seaseu has a dragoon…" he argued.

"So does Tiberoa now. The White Silver Dragoon alone is no match to the Red Eye and Dark Dragoon."

Lloyd was surprised, "Red Eye and Dark Dragoon? How?"

"They are not the old dragoons. The spirits got new owners. We are not sure how they ended up with the possession of the dragon spirits, but yeah…"

Great! If only he had taken the dragon spirits along with the dragon buster, this might not have happened.

"How about Serdio?"

"Since King Albert is tied to the previous Tiberoa's monarchs by marriage, it is now at war with the new ruler of Tiberoa. Geoffrey tries to invade Serdio. While Serdio has been weakened by the long civil war, it has dragoons on its side. It's the only place where winglies can be safe... Well, sort of…"

"Sort of…" Lloyd scoffed.

"Even dragoon can't win against the will of the people..." the old wingly spoke again.

"The will of the people…" Lloyd mumbled the phrase to himself, "Do humans really hate us that much?"

Is there no chance for the two species to coexist?

"Not long before the destruction of the Signets, some winglies tried to take over Tiberoa by using bandits and later on, the queen of Mille Seaseu was also abducted by a wingly. They probably think we are conspiring to dominate them."

_Shit... _

So, it all started with him…

The idea sort of made him dizzy. For a while, he didn't know what to think. There were a lot of questions in his mind, but he simply couldn't ask anymore.

There was silence for some times until the elder spoke again,

"We have been talking for a while, but we don't know who you are. Would you mind telling us your name?"

The question brought him out of his thought. He was about to answer Lloyd but decided against doing so. Instead, he went with the name he normally used among winglies.

"Kruzra…Yeefnur..."

The wingly elder was surprised, "You are from the Yeefnur clan?! I thought they are no more."

"I don't carry the Yeefnur's blood. I was adopted…"

"Still… It's an honor to meet someone related to a hero from the past. My name is Zanga And this is Ilgu" Zanga said.

Lloyd nodded, "Zanga, there is another thing I'd like to ask."

"Please, do so…"

"Do you plan to seek asylum in Serdio?"

The old wingly nodded.

"Unfortunately, the border between Tiberoa and Serdio is heavily guarded." he told Lloyd in disappointment.

"Can't you teleport?" Lloyd asked.

"There are anti-magic barriers everywhere in the country. We can't even use magic for it might alert the authorities. Some of us have got caught already." Ilgu explained before he proceeded with a question, "Kruzra, what happened to you? You're lucky we had found you. Had it been humans, you would have been screwed!"

Lloyd was silent for a moment. They shouldn't know he was missing the events exactly within these seven years.

"I don't know… It seems I have lost some of my memory…" he lied, "What will happen to us if we get caught?"

They seemed to be a bit suspicious with his answer, but the youth answered anyway.

"They would enslave us."

The word sent a shiver to his spine. Why does one always have to subjugate the other in order to survive?

"Do you have a way to get out of here?" Lloyd asked again.

They nodded, "There are people who smuggle us to Serdio. However, they can only take 5 at the maximum per journey to avoid suspicion."

"What if the humans find our hideout before all of us manage to escape?" an anxious female wingly suddenly spoke.

"Don't say such a thing!" another wingly reproached her.

There was so much fear and desperation. It reminded him of the time they lost the Dragon Campaign. This time might be worse as it was obvious that the winglies were weaker while the humans had made some advancement.

"Is there anything I could help?" he asked.

The old wingly just shook his head, "Just stay safe, child."

* * *

And so, the conflict began… I have thought of just throwing a random problem and enemies to Lloyd's origin story. However, I suddenly got a better idea making it the continuation of Lloyd's previous problem.

While the Meru's ending indicated an optimistic future coexistence between winglies and humans, Lloyd had predicted the opposite. From his experience, Lloyd knew that an open society like the one he and Meru dreamt of might lead to the destruction of his race. Such dreams do not belong in the real world. It could only exist in a utopia.


	4. Chapter 3

I changed the title.

LoD © Sony

Chapter 3

_The wingly girl pulled the dark-haired boy's face toward hers. He knew he should not do this. Yet, he could not say no. A slave should never say no to his mistress. He had done that before and the consequence was far from pleasant._

_Just this once… - he told himself._

_It was his first kiss. While he wasn't entirely willing, it wasn't too unpleasant._

_Suddenly, the door opened. He quickly pulled himself away from her. His master's eyes flared with anger. He knew he was screwed._

"_You low-life scum!" _

_The wingly grabbed his hair and threw him to the floor. He took the fire iron and started to brutally beat the boy with it. The boy could only consider himself lucky that it was summer, so there was no fire in the furnace. He curled into a fetal position and used his arms to shield head._

"_I thought you were smart, but it turns out you are just an ingrate who doesn't know his place!"_

_He stole a glance toward his young mistress, hoping she would save him. However, she just looked away._

_He should have known..._

_He should have known no matter what it was always the slave's fault._

* * *

Lloyd spent the following days with that group of wingly refugees. What he learned did not please him. Winglies were useless without their magic. They didn't even know how to make fire! He wasn't sure how these people managed to survive that far without basic survival skills.

Since he joined them, the winglies had grown fond of him. Of course, they were! They had become reliant on him, which annoyed him a bit.

"Kruzra, can you help us with the fire?" a young female wingly asked.

Had he had other things to do, he would have been pissed. He had been teaching these people how to make a fire for days! And they still struggled with it! These silver-haired creatures were simply unbelievable! However, since he had nothing else to do, he dedicated his time and energy to them. Somehow, there was a joy in knowing that he was needed.

He followed the wingly to what was supposed to be the kitchen. Several young females gathered there and pulled him to their midst. It made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

He took the flint and steel to make a fire and sighed a bit, "You should learn to do it yourself. I won't always be here to help you."

"We did try, but it didn't work." one of the girls explained.

The others nodded in agreement. For some reason, he wasn't sure they were telling the truth...

"Nah…, they just want to get near you!"

Ilgu suddenly appeared to the girls' dismay.

"Kruzra, help me to fetch some water, will ya?"

Once the fire was lit, he quickly excused himself and went with Ilgu.

The land was barren, so they needed to walk some distance to get water. It was a pretty dangerous task. The previous guys who did it got caught. In fact, that was probably the hardest task for the group. He volunteered after seeing how inefficient these winglies were in doing their job. _Dear Soa…, save these people! _They couldn't even walk straight while carrying 2 buckets! And they spilled the water while walking!

"So…, what do you think of the girls? Anyone interest you?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you see? The girls are all over you!"

"Oh…"

"You don't seem surprised. You must be used to female attention." he nudged him teasingly.

Lloyd remained silent.

"You are truly blessed, you know… Good look..., prominent family… Umph…"

Suddenly, a hand covered his mouth and pulled him to hide behind a bush. Lloyd instructed his companion to be silent as they saw 3 human soldiers patrolling.

"That's our only way to get water!" Ilgu whispered.

Lloyd was certain he could take the 3 down easily, but he wondered if that would be a good idea. Perhaps, they were just there by coincidence. If that was the case, they should just return tomorrow. There was no need to alarm the authorities. It would only make their life more difficult in the long run.

"Let's go back..." he said quietly.

However, when they returned the next 2 days, the soldiers were still there.

When they told the others about it, the winglies became more depressed.

"What should we do?" a female wingly asked in desperation.

"I could take them down if you want. They would return in a larger number, though." Lloyd told Zanga.

"No. We won't be able to beat humans physically and we can't use our magic for there might be anti-magic mechanisms." Zanga explained.

Well, he was certain he could beat them physically…, but nevermind…

"Do you have hair-dye?" Lloyd asked.

"Well, yes. However, we only used it in an emergency. It's still dangerous. They can tell we are winglies from the way we speak." another female wingly replied.

"That could be managed."

"You mean you can fake human dialect?"

Lloyd nodded. Well, he had been faking the way he talked all this time with them...

"Does that mean you can go to the city and shop for us?"

"Yes."

The mood suddenly lightened. Their life would be easier if they could get what they need from the city.

"Kruzra, are you sure about this? It might be dangerous." Zanga said worriedly.

"I'd be fine."

"We don't have money, though…" the females looked worriedly at each other.

"That could also be arranged."

Smiles started to appear on their face.

"Kruzra, I don't know where you learned all of these, but you are wonderful!"

Well, if you live with humans long enough, you will definitely know how they do stuff.

* * *

This is a short chapter. Nothing much here.

It will take a while until another LoD character makes an appearance. Probably in chapter 5.


	5. Chapter 4

LoD © Sony

Chapter 4

"_I'm not a wingly! And I will never be a part of you, twisted creatures!"_

* * *

"Done!" the lady, who helped him dye his hair, announced as he finished putting the contacts on his eyes.

The other winglies gathered around him, especially the girls.

"It's not too bad…" one of the girls said.

"Here, take a look!" the lady said as she shoved a mirror towards him.

He looked at the mirror and saw a man from his past staring back at him. The man who died a long time ago, whose name he kept for himself. Jet black hair. Blue eyes. He looked older than how he remembered him.

"The dye will disappear if you wash your hair. No worries!"

"So…, what do you want me to buy?"

They gave him a list of items, which… turned out to be quite long...

"I may not be able to carry all of this at once…" he said.

"No worry! Ilgu will go with you!" one of the females said.

"Me? But I can't talk like humans!" Ilgu protested.

"Doesn't matter. You will be his wingly slave."

"Whaaaaaaatttt?!"

* * *

Before they left, Lloyd translated the shopping list to human language.

"Whoaaa… You're really meticulous, aren't you?" Ilgu commented.

Lloyd didn't react.

"But why did you learn those stuff?"

Lloyd looked at the boy. For a moment, he considered how he should answer.

"Why not? It is proven to be useful now, isn't it?"

"Uh… yeah…, you are right… Still, nobody expected it to be useful!"

Once, Lloyd finished his job and he went to the kitchen. His sudden appearance surprised the ladies.

"Can I help you?" one of the women asked.

"Yes. Do you have knives?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I would like to borrow some."

"Sure! Here!"

The girls brought all the knives they had to him and had him choose.

_Few are usable…_

Lloyd chose some with the sharpest point and thanked the girls.

"What are you going to do with those knives?" Ilgu asked.

"Make some money."

With that, they went to Fletz.

* * *

Ilgu had explored the Barrens before to search for water. It was a dangerous place with monsters roaming around. Normally, he and his fellow winglies would run or hide. It's dangerous to fight without magic. Last time, He and Kruzra just took the safer road he normally took. However, this time Kruzra insisted on taking the shorter path.

"Kruzra, are you sure this is the way?" Ilgu asked anxiously.

"Yeah, this way is shorter." he answered, "Also there are more catches."

Lloyd took a knife and threw it at a hawk that flew above them. It hit the target and the hawk fell. Ilgu dropped his jaw.

Lloyd took the hawk and put it in a sack he was carrying.

"How did you do that?!" Ilgu asked in amazement.

Lloyd blinked at him, "I just did it."

"Yeah, nevermind… You're awesome…" Ilgu said sarcastically as the answer didn't help at all.

However, that's not all of it…

They encountered a giant scorpion...

Ilgu's legs were shaking. He clung to his companion for support.

"Stop clinging to me…" Lloyd looked at him awkwardly.

The scorpion attacked. Ilgu squealed. Lloyd pushed him aside and charged at the monster, stabbing him several times until it was dead.

"What's wrong with you?!" Lloyd yelled at his companion.

Ilgu only looked at him with watery eyes. Lloyd could only sigh and helped the boy to his feet.

Ilgu must admit, that he wasn't the best fighter from his village. Yet, he was one of the few able body males remaining in their group. Many had got caught trying to stop the humans during a pursuit while the others disappeared when doing dangerous tasks such as the one they were doing. The other guys were not much better than him either. They had been at peace for too long. They didn't really know how to fight. Also, the other males had a family. It's better for them to just stay and protect the group. So, he volunteered to do the more dangerous stuff. He wanted to grow up and be dependable.

Still, he had never seen anyone fight like Kruzra, even those who were trained to be a fighter and got caught doing their job. Yes, winglies were fast, but they lack the physical strength of humans. That didn't seem to be the case with Kruzra, though. He could tell this wingly was physically stronger than the average human soldiers.

_Maybe he was magically awful. Nobody could be that perfect_ \- he tried to make himself feel better about his own ability.

There was no way the world could be that unfair!

* * *

They arrived in Fletz in the afternoon. Before they entered the city, Lloyd put a metal collar on Ilgu's neck. They said wingly slaves wore it to prevent them from using magic.

As they set their feet in the city, Lloyd could feel his magic disappeared within him. There must be some sort of anti-magic device operating throughout the city. He probably could still fly and use some simple spells, but most of his power was suppressed.

He looked at his companion. Ilgu obviously didn't seem bothered by anything. He was mesmerized by what he saw. He didn't expect a human city to be majestic since he was always taught that humans are inferior species. Despite the disappearance of the barrier, he and many others hadn't dared to get out of their forest until the humans had attacked them. However, it wasn't a good time for tourism. Lloyd quickly tugged the leash connected to Ilgu's collar and forced the boy to follow.

The boy's amazement soon turned into anger as they entered the market place and saw some winglies being auctioned. It's hard to control his emotions. He looked at his companion. Kruzra's face was completely unreadable although he believed Kruzra must be very disturbed.

He felt Kruzra pulled his leash until they arrived in front of a shop. He suddenly went pale.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked.

Ilgu didn't answer. He stared at the shop's window with horror.

Lloyd looked at the meat hanging on the window and suddenly realized why;

Winglies didn't eat meat.

Well, they used to eat meat when they had human slaves slaughtered the cattle for them. After that, they came with whatever bullshit excuses to justify their inability to process meat properly.

"You wait here." Lloyd said as he snatched the sack from Ilgu's hand and entered the shop.

Ilgu watched his companion handed the sack which contained some animals Kruzra collected on the way and the butcher handed him some money. Kruzra returned and pulled him to the next shop.

When they entered the grocery stores, Ilgu was still slightly perplexed. He was even more baffled when he heard his companion talked in humans' dialect.

"Cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, apple…"

"Just a moment." the shopkeeper said.

Everything went fine until they were about to pay.

"Do you have a license?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Pardon?"

"You need to have a license to do a transaction." the shopkeeper explained.

"I've just come from the meat shop. They didn't ask for it." Lloyd argued.

"Ugh… That old man… Lazy as usual… He would deal with the authority one day!" the woman grumbled.

"I'm just visiting for a short time. Could you make an exception?"

"Sorry. It's the rule. All visitors must register to prove they are human for security reasons." the woman smiled apologetically, "Oh wait!"

She suddenly got out and waved her hand at some patrol guards who passed outside the shop.

"This gentleman needs a license, could you take him to the registration office?" she asked the guards.

She looked at Lloyd and smiled, "It won't take long…"

_Shit…_

* * *

Ilgu's heart almost skipped a beat when they were taken to the registration office. He wanted to run, but Kruzra still looked indifferent. He even chatted with the men.

"It won't take long. Just some quick questions." the man said.

They met an official who took them to a room that looked like a recovery room.

"Please, stand in the middle." the man instructed.

Kruzra followed the instruction and walked to the platform in the middle of a pool.

"Your name?"

"Lloyd."

The water surrounding the platform glowed green.

_Shit! It must be some kind of lie detector. They will discover our identity!_ \- Ilgu thought.

Yet, nothing happened. Nobody came to arrest them. Instead, the man continued.

"Where do you come from?"

"Mille Seseau."

Again the water glowed green.

"Haha. Yeah, that's obvious. You have a strong Seseauan's accent!"

Kruzra just grinned.

"What are you doing here in Fletz?"

"I just want to buy some supplies."

Green.

"Are you a wingly?"

_Shit…_

"Isn't that obvious?"

Ilgu watched the reaction of the man nervously.

"Yes or no?" the man asked again.

"No."

To Ilgu's surprise, the water glowed green.

The man signaled Kruzra to follow him to the next room. On the table, there was a plate with a piece of meat, medium-rare.

"Eat a bit."

Ilgu went pale - _No way he could eat that!_

However, Kruzra took the fork with his left hand and cut the meat with the knife on his right. Then, he calmly put the piece of meat in his mouth.

Ilgu puked.

A man kicked his head, "Stupid wingly! How dare you mess the floor!"

"Clean it." Kruzra told him coldly.

He looked at Kruzra who simply stared at him expressionlessly. For a moment, he couldn't believe the person who traveled with him earlier was a wingly. How could he do that?

A rag landed on his face. He used it to wipe the mess.

"We are done with the test." the official told Kruzra.

"That's all?" Kruzra asked.

"We used to ask guests to wash their hair, but that's too much of a hassle. Many people got mad. If we are sure, they are not wingly. These should be enough. Please wait for a moment."

Kruzra nodded.

Not long after, the official returned and handed Kruzra the paper. Kruzra thanked the man. They exited the building. Ilgu noticed Kruzra sighed a bit.

They returned to the grocery store and got everything they needed. However, before they left. Kruzra took him to the weapon shop.

Ilgu wasn't even surprised when his companion picked a sword as his weapon of choice. While most wingly preferred light weapons such as bow or staff, there were natural-born warriors who used weapons such as swords. Most of them died during the Dragon Campaign, though. Kruzra belonged to the Yeefnur clan which was a well-known warrior clan. That would be the least surprising thing about him.

Yeah, that shouldn't be surprising that he was different from common winglies. Still, he couldn't understand the event in the registration office.

No wingly would ever do that!

* * *

So, what do you think?


	6. Chapter 5

Once again, thanks to Right What Is Wrong for letting me know you are still following this story. ^^

LoD © Sony

Chapter 5

_"Stupid, boy... Take a look at yourself! Do you really think they will accept you as one of their own?"_

* * *

"Oh, Soa! Kruzra…, you are amazing!"

They couldn't believe what they had just seen. After eating wild plants for a while, which could barely sate their hunger, they could finally have a feast!

"Come! You must be tired."

The girls pulled Kruzra inside, giving him VIP treatment. Then, they hurriedly prepared the dinner.

During dinner, everyone kept praising Kruzra. The females put a lot of stuff on his plate. They let him have the best. Not that they didn't do it before since they had a crush on him. However, this time was different.

"I don't eat that much…" he said sheepishly.

"Don't be shy, you deserve it!" Zanga said.

"You, too, Ilgu! Why are you so silent?" a female wingly teased him.

"He must be jealous. You all only fawn all over Kruzra." a male wingly said jokingly.

"I'm not jealous!" Ilgu argued.

Everyone laughed except for Kruzra who just smiled a bit.

Ilgu simply couldn't tell anyone what he witnessed. The winglies, especially the females, adored Kruzra. He was handsome, strong and from a good family. Ideal husband and son in law material. They wouldn't believe him over the charming Kruzra.

They didn't speak the entire return journey. He felt sick with what he had seen. He had hoped Kruzra would try to break the ice, but he didn't bother. It was as if he didn't care. He didn't care whether they talked or not. He didn't care about others' opinions on him. He didn't care about their future relationship. The message was clear;

He didn't need anyone.

And that scared Ilgu.

Even on their next journey to the city, he still didn't talk to Kruzra. Kruzra simply did his job. Nobody suspected him of being wingly. Even the shopkeeper seemed to have a crush on him.

On their way, Ilgu had had enough. He finally decided to confront Kruzra regarding the issue that had been bothering him for a while.

"Kruzra…"

"Hn?"

"Are you wingly?"

Kruzra, who had been walking in front of him, stopped

"Does it really matter?" he asked without turning his back.

"I don't know… You could be a human spy."

"If I were a human spy, you would probably be in a slave market or a dungeon right now." Kruzra walked again.

"But how could you manage to pass the test?!"

"I have my own way."

"That still doesn't explain how you can eat meat so nonchalantly!"

Kruzra now turned to face him, "Why not?"

"Because that would anger the Archangel!"

Kruzra rolled his eyes, "Winglies ate meat during the old days. That's just a myth to justify your incompetence in terms of meat processing."

"What?!" Ilgu was horrified by what he heard, "How could you utter such blasphemy?!"

"I'm just telling the truth." Kruzra shrugged.

"You, heretic!"

"And? What are you going to do with that? Burn me?" Kruzra smirked mockingly.

"You…" Ilgu was totally lost at words.

"I don't care if you want to expose me. I simply help as a gratitude for saving me. I don't want to be indebted to anybody. However, I advise you against it as you, people, are heavily reliant on me. At least until all of you have crossed the border."

Just as he thought, this guy didn't give a damn!

During dinner, they fawned all over Kruzra as usual. That pissed Ilgu even more. He wondered whether or not he should expose him. However, he remembered Kruzra's words.

_I advise you against it as you, people, are heavily reliant on me._

Ugh! He despised this wingly! Why did he have to be so good at everything?! Oh, wait! He wasn't even sure he was a wingly!

Yet, when he saw the other winglies laughed during the dinner, he knew Kruzra was right. He hadn't seen them laughed like that since they were driven out of their village. Before Kruzra appeared, they put a somber face every day. Kruzra changed everything.

Maybe…, he wasn't that bad…

Maybe…, he, Ilgu, was simply jealous…

Well, no! The guy was really strange. They didn't even know his origin since he claimed to suffer memory loss, which Ilgu was certain to be a lie! How could everyone be so trusting?! They even just took his words for granted that he was some sort of wingly nobility!

Still, he had to admit Kruzra had never abused his status and his connection to the Yeefnur clan. He always took the hardest task. Even risking himself by taking the anti-wingly test in Fletz. They were able to have a nice dinner because Kruzra did what he did. He didn't have the heart to rob this piece of happiness from them.

So, they kept doing what they did. Although it remained uncomfortable. One day, they would not talk at all. Another day, Ilgu would pry information on Kruzra's background. He asked about his past, his family, what had happened to him that he had no idea about the day of disaster. Kruzra kept everything about himself secret.

"_I don't remember."_

"_You are lying."_

"_If that's what you think, I don't see the need to refute that."_

It was simply hard to believe that Kruzra was wingly. Yes, he looked like them, spoke like them - well, he started to speak in human dialect when he was just with Ilgu, which meant he was faking with them all this time! -. Yet, he seemed to have zero idea about winglies' culture and tradition.

"_I told you. I don't know. I was an orphan. My adopted parents had never told me about my biological parents and I do not care either."_

"_There is nothing such as a wingly orphan! We record all birth and have every baby who loses their parents adopted."_

"_Whatever."_

He obviously lied to them. He invented stories. Yet, they didn't make sense, because he had no idea about their culture.

However, that wasn't the thing that bothered Ilgu the most. He had tried to dig information by angering his opponent, but what he found was truly disturbing…

Kruzra was an emotionless person. No matter how much Ilgu abused or insulted him, he didn't care.

"_Your parents made a good decision to dump you. They would be horrified to find out what you have become."_

"_Yeah, good for me, I got adopted by an illustrious family."_

Even humans wouldn't take the idea of being unwanted by their parents lightly. Nevermind, a wingly! All winglies, even those who were adopted, loved their biological parents because they knew they were wanted. There was nothing such as an unwanted wingly baby.

He wasn't sure what to think about it. A part of him loved the fact that it confirmed his theory that this guy was some sort of demonic creature in a wingly skin. Another part of him was terrified of the fact that he had been associating with someone like that. That's why he was desperate to draw any sort of emotion from this person through verbal abuse and insult. The best he got was a mild annoyance. He wondered whether or not he should be grateful for it. A normal individual would probably have beaten the crap out of him. However, Kruzra was simply not normal, that he sort of expected a virage-like monster would tear this beautiful skin it had been wearing, jump at and eat him.

"Hey! Kruzra! Answer me!"

Kruzra just ignored him and kept walking. That's the worst, when he treated him as if he didn't exist.

Suddenly, he stopped and Ilgu bumped into his back.

"Why the hell did you suddenly stop?!"

Kruzra just stared at the winglies' hideout, smoke came out of the entrance.

"No!"

Ilgu ran into the cave and found their stuff was burned. Nobody was there. Everything was a mess. When Kruzra entered the cave, Ilgu grabbed his collar.

"It's you, isn't it?! You exposed our hideout!"

"Ilgu, calm down…"

Ilgu tried to punch Kruzra, but he evaded. He fell to the ground. He didn't give up and did it again. However, Kruzra was too fast. He wasn't his match. In the end, he just sat on the ground in frustration after losing his energy.

"Are you done?" Kruzra asked.

Ilgu started to cry.

"You need to pull yourself together. We will find a way to save everyone."

"How?! There is no way we can do it alone."

Kruzra remained silent. He knew Ilgu was right. Even with his strength, there was no way he could do it alone.

So, they just sat there in silence for hours. That was until Kruzra felt another presence approached them. He pulled Ilgu to hide behind a boulder and readied his sword.

When the presence approached them, Kruzra attacked and pinned that person to the floor.

A girl screamed.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Ilgu pulled him away from the girl.

"This is the person who helps to smuggle us to Serdio." Ilgu told Kruzra.

"Lloyd?" the girl addressed him by another name.

"It's Lloyd, isn't it?" the girl jumped on him to the point that he staggered a bit, "I thought you were dead!"

"You know each other?" Ilgu asked.

"Yes! This is my friend, Lloyd!"

"Friend?" Kruzra frowned.

"You remember me, don't ya?"

Kruzra thought for a few seconds, then nodded, "You are the wingly girl who traveled with Dart."

"Whaaaaat?!"

* * *

How Lloyd remembered the party:

Dart

Rose

The Moon Child

The King of Serdio

Lavitz (because they kept mentioning this guy whenever they met him)

The old man from hero competition

The giganto

The wingly girl

The sacred sister

Despite the funny moment in the end, I felt heartbroken writing this chapter. This is just a glimpse of how Lloyd had been treated by society. The fact that he didn't get mad is probably the most disturbing part.

Wow! This is my first fic in ffnet that reached 10000 words!


	7. Chapter 6

It's a bit late since I was rather busy. Well, actually, I was playing Devil May Cry V and got obsessed with it.

LoD © Sony

Chapter 6

"_You, winglies, took everything away from me!"_

* * *

"It's Miss Meru! Meruuu!"

Lloyd just gave an, "Oh…"

Meru was speechless. He didn't seem to care about her sudden appearance and spoke to Ilgu,

"Do you know where they are being kept?"

"In the dungeon in Fletz." Ilgu answered.

"We are going to break them out of prison."

"Are you crazy?! It is surrounded by an anti-magic barrier and might be guarded by dragoons! There's no way we can get away with that!"

"Umh… actually…" Meru tried to interrupt.

"I'm not sure I can do it alone, but with this girl here, I think we can do it."

"But it's just the 3 of us!"

"Don't worry! I'm a dragoon. Our friend, Lloyd, specializes in killing dragons! You still have that sword, don't ya?!" Meru nudged Lloyd.

Lloyd nodded.

"What? What sword?" Ilgu asked.

"Then, it settles!" Meru said cheerfully, ignoring Ilgu.

There were so many questions in Ilgu's mind. How did the two know each other? Meru even knew the name he used in the registration office. From Kruzra's reaction, it was obvious they were not friends as Meru wanted to believe. However, they seemed to know each other's abilities and trust the other enough.

That night, they discussed the plan to liberate the winglies. The general plan was to have Lloyd wreaking havoc to distract everyone while Meru would save the winglies.

"I'm worried about the privately-owned slaves as they aren't kept in the dungeon." Ilgu said.

"First, we need to destroy the anti-magic devices, so that everyone can use magic. We can only hope they manage to liberate themselves during the chaos." Lloyd explained.

"Do you know where the devices are located?" Meru asked.

Lloyd nodded, "Some, I have explored a bit with this guy here. I'll destroy them. After the chaos, you go directly to the dungeon with him."

They nodded.

* * *

The night was quiet just like any other night. The guards were patrolling throughout the city as usual. However, there was a greater concentration in the north-western wall. That was where one of the anti-magic devices was located.

"Do you smell something?" a guard asked his colleagues.

Before the others could reply, all of them fell unconscious.

A silver-haired figure walked passed the unconscious body and used his sword to break the precious device.

Alarms rang throughout the city. Most guards quickly left their station and ran to the north-west. They looked in horror as they saw the anti-magic device was destroyed.

"Seize him!" the commander ordered.

The wingly flew away to the north-east where the second device was located.

"No! No! No! Stop him at all costs!"

A group of archers came and started to shoot some arrows. Luckily, now a device was destroyed, the wingly had enough energy to build a barrier to defend himself.

When he landed, he was greeted by some guards. There was no way he could pass all of them since his magic was still very limited, they thought. However, the wingly didn't intend to beat them using magic. To everyone's surprise, he tackled the guards one by one using a sword. Within seconds, dozens of guards were lying on the ground groaning in pain.

"Call the elite unit!"

However, even the elite unit was easily beaten by the wingly. The wingly reached the second device and destroyed it. They couldn't believe what they saw. How could a wingly be that powerful? He wasn't even using magic.

Meanwhile, two winglies used the chaos to sneak into the dungeon. They quickly found where everyone was being locked.

The captured winglies had been alerted by the alarm. Some had tried to use magic to break the door.

"Elder!"

"Ilgu? Miss Meru! What are you doing?!" Zanga was surprised to see them.

"We are here to break you out!" Meru said.

She turned into a dragoon and froze the door before smashing it with his mace. The door shattered. She proceeded with the next door. She could feel it consumed more energy than usual. There must be some anti-magic devices remained. She had no time to wait, though. She had to proceed.

* * *

As Meru freed the winglies, Lloyd flew around trying to avoid the enemies. He hoped Meru could finish her job soon because he wasn't sure how long he could buy her time before they realized.

Some privately-owned slaves had started escaping while their owners probably chose to hole up out of fear in their house. The guards didn't bother much with them as they were much too occupied with him.

He tried not to hurt the humans. He just needed to keep them busy. He was concerned that if there were too many casualties, they would take revenge on the winglies who remained under their control somewhere else.

"The winglies are escaping from the dungeon!"

The guards realized they had been lured out to allow the prisoners to escape. They quickly ran to stop the winglies from escaping. Lloyd, of course, wouldn't just let them go too easily.

* * *

Meru had managed to get the prisoners out of their cells, but escaping the dungeon was another issue. She had never led that many people. Some of them were in bad condition due to malnutrition and illness. Some were thin like a skeleton, they needed to be carried by others.

When they reached the entrance of the dungeon, they were greeted by a kid in the red-eyed dragoon armor.

"Where are you going, winglies?" he sent a fireball at Meru.

"Ouch!"

Meru guarded. She couldn't dodge or it would hit someone else. Fire-based attacks always hurt.

"Yo, kid! What are you doing here?! Stop playing with fire! This is no place for a kid!" Meru yelled angrily.

"Kid?! Why don't you look at yourself in the mirror?!" the red-eyed dragoon retorted.

The boy charged at Meru. She realized she was at a disadvantage. He was physically more powerful and she had used a good amount of her magic power to unlock the cells. Not to mention she needed to protect her people.

A strong blow suddenly came. Meru defended with her mace. However, it was too strong. She fell on her butt. The red-eyed dragoon proceeded with another one. She didn't have a chance to defend herself.

_Shit…_

She closed her eyes, but the blow had never landed. When she opened her eyes, she saw her companion.

"Lloyd!"

"Kruzra!"

Lloyd appeared in front of Meru and blocked the attack.

Lloyd clashed sword with the youth and pushed him backward unblocking the entrance. The winglies were petrified by what they saw. They had never seen a wingly fight physically like him. Except for Meru, who seemed concerned.

"Don't stare! Run!" Lloyd yelled at them.

The winglies quickly ran outside the dungeon. The dragoon tried to stop them, but Lloyd blocked him.

"Out of my way! A mere wingly like you is no match for a dragoon!" the boy barked at him.

"Go home, boy… You shouldn't be here." Lloyd replied.

"Home? You, winglies, took that away from me! How dare you talk about home!"

The boy's words reminded him of his old self who had been full of anger. Had he not been robbed of his childhood, he wouldn't have been on the battlefield at such a young age.

The boy swung his sword furiously. Lloyd dodged quickly. He cast a wind-based spell and sent the boy flying several feet away.

He quickly ran outside to catch up with the others. They were surrounded by guards. Meru was overwhelmed. Lloyd cast another wind-based spell to get rid of the guards.

"They can't fly! There are still some anti-magic devices functioning." Meru told him.

"I know." Lloyd replied as he helped Meru make a way for the winglies to get through the guards.

They managed to get to the city entrance, but not long after, the dragoon boy reappeared with a reinforcement...

A dragon.

Lloyd looked at Meru in confusion, "What the fuck?"

"Ah… You didn't know?" Meru gave him an awkward smile.

Then, he gave Ilgu a death glare, basically saying - _Why didn't you tell me?!_

"I thought a dragoon always means there is a dragon…" Ilgu gave the same awkward smile.

"She doesn't have a dragon!" Lloyd pointed at Meru.

Meru just continued to give the awkward smile. Suddenly, everyone felt they were fucked.

_Shit..._

"I will hold them here. Take everyone to the place we discussed earlier." Lloyd said.

"You sure?" Meru asked.

"We can't just leave you here!" Ilgu retorted.

Lloyd ignored him and flew to the center of the city.

"Kruzra!" Ilgu yelled to stop him.

Lloyd cast a spell, locking the dragoon, dragon, and a bunch of guards inside a dome.

"Impressive." the dragoon said, "I have never seen a wingly cast such powerful magic. Your companions can barely even fly, but you manage to perform this sort of spell. However, that must consume a lot of energy. How do you expect to fight a dragon and its master while holding this barrier?"

"Don't get cocky boy, I've never relied on magic to survive. I spared you earlier because I pity you."

"A wingly pities me?" the boy laughed.

Meanwhile, Meru was rushing everyone out of the city, but Ilgu just stood there, statued, staring at Lloyd who was conversing with the dragoon mid-air inside the dome.

"What are you doing?! Let's go!"

Meru pulled his arm, but Ilgu broke away from her.

"I can't leave him to die!" Ilgu said.

"He's not dying! We shouldn't waste time!" Meru retorted.

"How can he survive against a dragoon and a dragon?!" Ilgu yelled angrily.

Zanga suddenly interrupted, "Ilgu, look!"

Ilgu turned his head back toward Lloyd and saw a fiery sword appeared in his grasp. He was surprised. Other winglies who saw it were also in awe.

"That is…"

Zanga nodded, "The Dragon Buster."

He had heard about the winglies' legendary weapon which was lost during the Dragon Campaign. He couldn't believe it still existed.

"If anyone could survive, it was him." Zanga said.

Meru nodded, "Let's go! We shouldn't waste more time!"

Back to Lloyd, he had no other choice, but to summon the Dragon Buster. He wasn't very fond of the idea of killing a kid or an endangered exotic creature.

"A fancy sword you have there…" the boy commented.

"It was made specially to kill dragons." Lloyd stated, "If you still value your life, you have to withdraw."

"Bullshit!"

The dragon breathed fire at him, but Lloyd quickly evaded. For a moment, he just tried to evade the attacks. The boy grinned cockily until Lloyd plunged his Dragon Buster to the creature's stomach. The creature roared in pain as it fell to the ground. Guards ran away trying to avoid being squashed by it to no avail. They were shocked by what they saw. Many ran away in fear.

"You can still save it if you treat it now! Pull back!" Lloyd ordered.

The boy groaned angrily. For a moment, he considered pulling back. However, luck was on his side. Lloyd suddenly felt his magic was disappearing.

"The backup devices have been activated!" somebody yelled.

_Shit…_

He couldn't let the barrier go by now. Otherwise, they would catch up with Meru and the others. However, if he kept it that way, he might not have enough energy to fight his way out.

_Consider it as a payment for saving me._

Instead of letting the barrier go and fleeing outside the city, Lloyd flew to the inner city. Better to get caught alone than together with everyone else.

Some guards pursued him while others shot some arrows. In the next few hours, he was basically playing cat and mouse with the guards. Running. Hiding. Fighting. The longer he did that, the more he lost his energy.

_Just hold on 'til dawn…_

However, before the sunrise, he had spent all his magic. The barrier had disappeared. He knew he should flee. However, every corner of the city was swarmed with guards.

_At least they focused on me instead of pursuing them._

He tried to sneak out several times but to no avail. He had lost too much energy to fight properly and even received some wounds. By the time the sun rose, he knew he was screwed. There was no way he could get out. All he could do was to stall and buy as much time as possible for the others. Still, he remained to be a challenge for the humans, but it didn't take too long until they cornered him.

On his back was the castle, he lost all options.

"Give up wingly!" the guards barked.

_Let's play a bit longer before we end it. _

He used his very last magical energy to fly and entered the castle tower through the window. The occupant of the room gasped at the appearance of the intruder.

"Mr. Lloyd?"

In front of him stood a familiar face. Braided blond hair decorated with pearls. She dressed in a gown that matched her eye color. She looked like a noble lady she was, different from the modest woman in his memory. Yet, it was definitely her.

"Wink."

* * *

Ooo… Why was Wink there? Also, Lloyd remembered her name!


	8. Chapter 7

LoD © Sony

Chapter 7

_He could feel her warm fingers brushing his waist as she helped him to bandage his wound. He hadn't been so close to a human for a very long time and it made him nervous. He had told her he could do it himself, but she insisted. She thought it was from the wingly, but it was actually from his fight with the divine dragon. Had it not been for that, there would have been no way the wingly could hurt him._

_Suddenly, she asked, "Mr. Lloyd, are you a wingly?"_

_He was silent for a moment. The answer seemed to get stuck in his throat. For thousands of years, he had hidden his identity from humans. However, many things had changed. He had joined forces with Doel in building the utopia, he was the first person who knew what he really was and now this woman. It felt like they were getting closer to the world he desired. Perhaps, in the future, such questions wouldn't give him such a heavy feeling._

"_Yes." he answered._

"_I see…"_

_He had never been the one who was eager for a conversation, but out of curiosity, he asked, _

_"Does it bother you?"_

_She shook her head, "It's just… I always thought winglies as creatures from fairytales." _

_And the evil ones in that…_

"_But I think we will see more and more of each other in the future. Isn't it time to let go of the past?" she asked rhetorically._

"_You think so?"_

_She nodded, "Not all winglies are bad. There are some good ones like you."_

_He was astounded for a few seconds. A warm flush was creeping into his cheeks. It was a strange feeling. Throughout his life, he had always been viewed with suspicion. It made him feel guilty for thinking that perhaps he could use her to achieve his goal._

"_I'm of no good, Lady." _

_She shook her head fervently, "You saved me twice. I owe my life to you."_

"_Then, how are you going to repay me?"_

_The woman blinked innocently. He rolled his eyes._

_He stood up and put on his clothes._

"_I have to go." he said._

_He should have strengthened his resolve, but somehow he couldn't take advantage of someone so oblivious of everything. He would get what he wanted one way or another._

"_Please, allow me to express my gratitude. I have requested an audience with the queen."_

_He looked at her in frustration, "Let me give you a piece of advice. You should not trust a stranger so easily."_

"_But you are not a stranger! You saved me twice!"_

_Again, there was this strange feeling he couldn't quite describe. He wanted more of it, yet his common sense told him to get a grip on himself instead of clinging to an illusion._

_He would always be a stranger and it was better to remain so._

_He had been moving from one place to another throughout his life. He would pass through someone's life and then disappear from it. In a few years, probably months, she would forget about him. Nothing should remain. Neither friendship nor hatred. Just like always. She didn't need to find out that it was he who would take her country's national treasure. She shouldn't have anything to do with it. _

_He would simply disappear from her life._

* * *

For a moment, time seemed to freeze for both of them. They simply stared at each other. They had never expected to meet each other in that place in such a condition. There was so much left unsaid, but everything was stuck in their throat.

They returned to reality when they heard guards running up the stairs. She looked worriedly at him.

"Wink, do you trust me?"

Without hesitation, she answered, "Yes."

The door was opened. Lloyd pulled Wink toward him and put his sword on her throat.

_I use her again..._

The guards looked in horror seeing the princess was taken as hostage.

"Let her go, you wingly bastard!" the guards yelled.

The dragoon boy reappeared. Panic in his eyes.

"Wink!"

"Leo, go away." Wink told the boy.

"Out of my way! I promise I won't hurt the Lady." Lloyd said.

The boy gritted his teeth, "You coward…"

"Open the path!" Lloyd ordered.

"Do as he says..." said Wink.

The guards parted and allowed Lloyd, who still held Wink as a hostage, to get out of the room.

"Take me to the stable." Lloyd told her.

Wink's heart was beating fast. She wasn't sure whether it was because of the blade being so close to her neck or because she had never been that close to her teenage crush.

On their way downstairs, a maid dropped the food tray she was carrying and screamed.

"My Lady! Oh my Soa! Let her go, evil wingly!" she screamed.

"Calm down, Mika. I'm fine…" said Wink.

"How can you be fine?! You're being held as a hostage!"

Lloyd ignored her and kept walking.

More guards appeared, but some quickly yelled at them to be careful because the princess was taken as a hostage.

Once in the stable, Lloyd quickly helped Wink to get on the horse and leaped behind her back. The horse galloped past the guards. They fired some arrows, but the dragoon boy stopped them out of fear Wink would get hurt. However, two managed to land on Lloyd's back.

"Mr. Lloyd!"

Ignoring the pain, Lloyd kept riding. The guards chased him with horses. They were some distance away from him. However, he knew, if they continued, they would eventually catch him.

He reached to his back and pulled the arrow. Blood flowed freely from the wound. When he saw some stone structure, he told Wink;

"We are going to jump, try not to scream."

"What?!"

Lloyd pulled Wink to his embrace and let their body fall off the horse. He tried to shield her as best as he could as they rolled over the ground even though it meant his wounds would get worse. He quickly got up and pulled her to hide. The guards passed their hiding place as they continued to follow the horse which continued to run without its rider.

Once it was safe, Lloyd told her,

"We need to get going."

He tried to get up, but his body felt so heavy he needed to use his sword as a support.

"Are you alright?" Wink asked.

He nodded, "We need to get out of here before they realize."

"Let me help you."

Without waiting for his permission, Wink put his arm around her shoulder and helped him walk.

_Just like before…_

* * *

Okay, okay… The reason why Lloyd wasn't so hard to beat in Flanvel was that he was wounded, okay?

Some people suspect that Lloyd had an ulterior motive in saving Wink, but he did not. He told Dart he had no reason for doing that. That didn't keep people from being suspicious. Also, if you return to Deningrad after defeating him, the guards will tell you that there was no casualty. It wasn't the person who would sacrifice anything and everything in Serdio or Tiberoa. I believe Wink made his resolve waver. He wasn't the heartless guy everybody thought he was. He was obviously ashamed of his action even though he believed he was doing the right thing. He couldn't look at her in the eyes and will refuse to go with you if you go back to the city.

Also, apparently, Wink managed to convince him to see the queen in the end.


	9. Chapter 8

LoD © Sony

Chapter 8

It had been 3 days since they separated with Lloyd. Meru and Ilgu had been waiting anxiously for Lloyd. If he didn't come, they needed to leave. Although so far, Meru had no idea how she was going to take such a huge number of winglies out of Tiberoa by herself.

Meanwhile, Ilgu had been sobbing since the second day.

"Stop crying, will you!" Meru smacked his back, "I'm also worried…"

"It's all my fault… I'm the one who pushed him…" Ilgu sobbed.

"Don't be ridiculous! There's no way you could push Lloyd to do something he didn't want to do!"

"But I was being mean! Also, why do you keep calling him Lloyd?"

"Who knew he has another name? He has never complained about being called Lloyd and I'm simply used to it."

Ilgu remembered Kruzra also called himself Lloyd in the registration office. He finally understood. The reason he passed the test was that he didn't lie. However, he still didn't understand one thing…

"Is he a wingly?"

How could he pass that question?

"Huh?! Are you blind? Didn't you see his wings before, when he was fighting the dragoon boy?"

Ilgu felt guilty for doubting him. Yes, Kruzra was a strange one, but does it matter? He was strong, brave, and selfless to the point of being suicidal. Nobody's perfect. So did Kruzra. Why do some flaws have to be judged more harshly than others?

Suddenly, Meru slapped his back repeatedly, "Look!"

Not far from their hiding place, they saw Lloyd dragging his leg while leaning heavily on a human woman.

"Kruzra!"

Ilgu ran and Meru followed him.

Lloyd and the woman dropped to the ground in exhaustion. They were sweating profusely. Especially Lloyd. He looked pale. He was conscious, but he was badly wounded.

"Are you okay?" Ilgu asked.

_Well, he obviously, isn't…_

Lloyd nodded, though, "Just tired." he said.

"He needs treatment," the woman said, "I tried to stop the bleeding as much as I could, but the wounds are really bad."

"Who are you?" Ilgu asked the woman.

Before she answered, the other winglies had gotten out of their hiding cave and approached them.

"Kruzra! Are you alright?" one of them asked.

"Well, he isn't. Stop watching, people! Help get him inside!" Meru ordered.

Ilgu helped him to get to his legs. However, when they were about to go inside,

"What are you doing here, bitch?!" a woman screamed at Wink.

Everyone's attention suddenly focused on the only human among their midst.

"She is the fiancee of the butcher, Geoffrey!"

Many, including Lloyd, were surprised. Meru, meanwhile, just looked down in sadness.

Lloyd looked at Wink with questions in his eyes. They hadn't discussed what happened to them during these years on their way to that place. She just looked away.

"Why don't we make her pay for what they have done to our people?"

"Agree. Let Geoffrey know how it feels losing his loved one."

There was so much hatred in the air. The conversation made Lloyd feel dizzy. He didn't expect things to be that bad.

"Aaah!"

Suddenly, a wingly pulled Wink by the hair and threw her to the ground.

Lloyd finally exploded, "Don't you dare to lay a finger on her!"

Now, everyone's eyes were on him. Some were surprised the normally cold Kruzra reacted so strongly for a human woman.

"She is our ticket to get out of here…" Lloyd explained.

Meru quickly went to Wink's side, "She brought him here. We should all thank her."

The winglies looked at each other in confusion. They felt something didn't quite add up, but nobody wanted to argue with Kruzra, so they just shrugged it off. Except for Ilgu who was sure there was something really really wrong between Kruzra and this woman, but he didn't want to fight with Kruzra again.

"Meru, please take care of her." asked Lloyd.

Meru nodded several times to ensure him.

While Lloyd was being treated, Meru accompanied Wink in a corner of the cave away from the others who were busy worrying their champion of liberation.

"Are you 'kay?" Meru asked.

Wink nodded.

"Sorry for that, winglies can be very dense." Meru said, "But no worry! Nobody here would dare to offend Lloyd!"

Wink was just silent.

"You seemed sad." Meru observed.

"Huh?" She quickly shook her head.

Well, actually, she was. He could say they were an old acquaintance. Instead, he said she was their ticket to get out? He was still the old Lloyd... She knew she shouldn't be upset. It was for her safety. Also, she should be more upset with the dying skeletal winglies who laid on the ground. She should be glad if she could help so many people. She came with Lloyd willingly and he wouldn't have forced her had she said she didn't trust him, but still…

"It must be because Lloyd was acting like a jerk, isn't it?"

That was a bull's eye.

Meru sighed, "Geeze… That Lloyd… He has never considered other people's feelings…"

"I came here willingly…" Wink tried to defend him.

"Okay, nevermind him! I'm glad to meet you again, Wink!" Meru glomped her.

So many things happened. They met old acquaintances they thought they would never see again.

* * *

Lloyd woke up early the next morning after he passed out during treatment. He still felt he had a fever, but that shouldn't be a big deal. He needed to make sure they got out of Tiberoa as soon as possible and he suddenly got a plan which unfortunately had included Wink.

And that made him feel like a total ass.

He had planned to make up for what he had done, but there he was repeating it all over again!

He got up off his bed. The wound throbbed a bit, but it wasn't that bad. He needed to check Wink. Hopefully, nothing happened when he was unconscious.

Most people were still sleeping. He found Wink was sleeping with Meru in a corner. Meru's arm circled the taller woman protectively. He sat nearby, waiting for them to wake up.

When Wink opened her eyes, she was greeted by the view of Lloyd staring at her. She blushed.

"Mr. Lloyd…"

"I'd like to talk to you." Lloyd said.

Wink carefully moved Meru's arms and got up. Lloyd offered her a bowl of water before taking her outside the cave.

"How are the wounds?" Wink asked.

"They're okay."

"And the fever?"

"They would be gone in a few days." he said nonchalantly.

There was a silence for a moment before Lloyd continued,

"Wink, I'll go straight to the point. I want you to be my bargaining chip."

Wink swallowed her bile. That was a very straightforward way of saying things.

"Understood." she said while avoiding his gaze.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "but I have to get these people out of here."

"It's okay…"

Lloyd gave her a gesture to follow him to find a better place to talk. They sat on a rock with their back against the cave wall.

"Does your fiance treat you well?"

She blinked in surprise. She didn't expect Lloyd would ask such a personal question.

She nodded slightly, "Yes."

"Good."

It didn't sound good, though. This guy went around killing winglies. At least, he treated her well.

"I thought you were dead…" she said.

"I didn't expect myself to be alive either."

Another silence.

"How is your back?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean, the wound, from last time. Does it still hurt?"

"No."

"Does it scar?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry…" he apologized again.

"That's okay… It doesn't hurt anymore…"

When Meru woke up and found Wink was not on her side, she went panic. She started running around asking everyone where the woman was until she found out Wink was with Lloyd.

"Are you alright?" Meru asked, "I thought you're wounded."

"I told you, I was just tired." he said.

That's a fast recovery.

"Umh… Okay, then… I won't bother you two…" said Meru as she left them.

Just kidding! Of course, she eavesdropped! Except, she wasn't the only one who was interested in Lloyd and Wink's conversation.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Meru asked Ilgu in a whisper.

"I should be the one asking!"

"Forget it, just watch!"

However, when they peeked the couple again, they found Lloyd and Wink looking at them in confusion.

"I thought you're leaving." Lloyd said in confusion.

"Yeah, I'm leaving… I'm leaving… Ahahaha…" Meru laughed awkwardly as he dragged Ilgu from the scene.

Once they were away…

"What's the relationship between those two?" Ilgu asked.

He was obviously rather distressed. The woman was obviously not a mere hostage as Kruzra claimed to be. She came willingly. In fact, she helped him walk! Also, he had never seen Kruzra act as emotional as yesterday.

Meru's reaction disturbed him even more. She just scratched her head while smiling awkwardly, "I guess they are friends…"

"Kruzra doesn't make friends!"

"Well, Wink was rather special… Haha..." Meru laughed awkwardly.

"I hope you don't mean it's 'that kind of special'" Ilgu said as he left Meru.

Ilgu was done caring about Kruzra's private life, but he cared about Kruzra. He could keep Kruzra's secret, but some secrets were harder to be concealed than others. Right now, everyone was too grateful for what he did to notice everything else, but it might not last forever. He simply didn't want Kruzra to get hurt by his own antics.

Maybe he was being too suspicious. The woman had a fiance. That was a good thing at least.

However, the entire day, Kruzra stuck to that woman, or rather, he made sure the woman had never left his sight. She was there when he discussed the escape plan with the elders. She accompanied him when he wrote the letter demanding Tiberoa to open the path for them to Serdio. She was the first to review the letter even before the elders. During lunch, he switched her bowl with his because he knew the women always put more stuff in his. Or maybe he was just making sure she didn't get poison. However, at night, they didn't switch bowls! He just gave her some of his portions. Ilgu had never seen Kruzra caring for an individual in such a way!

The problem was… he didn't think he was the only one who noticed that…

"Ilgu, what's with these negative auras?" Meru asked as they looked at the females who had been secretly watching the two.

Well, he believed it was called jealousy… and it was scary...

For the love of the Archangel, he hoped the day the woman returned to her fiance would come soon!

* * *

Lloyd was still kind of a jerk. He was very fast to take advantage of the situation. Sure, he wouldn't hurt Wink, but still… The way he used others was rather scary. This fic will obviously be a slow burn although I don't think I'd focus much on romance.


	10. Chapter 9

Thanks to Eii and DesiCat. I'm glad I got some reviews!

LoD © Sony

Chapter 9

_Despite the attempt to hide her sadness and disappointment. She couldn't hide them from her second sister. She felt guilty mourning for the scoundrel. The older woman looked at her with pity._

"_Let him go, Wink. He is in a better place. He had been in pain for a very long time."_

_She looked at her sister in confusion,_

"_In pain? Why?"_

"_He desired a world that could never be."_

* * *

_I am writing to offer you a bargain. Allow us to leave Tiberoa and we will return the princess unharmed. If you agree with the term, you can use a green firework to let us know. We will leave the princess to the border guards. If not, red. You have 3 days to answer. After 3 days, I won't guarantee the princess safety._

_Kruzra Yeefnur_

* * *

The usurper king crushed the fabric in his hand. They used his fiancee's gown and blood to write the threatening letter.

He spoke, "I've just left for a few days and all of these happened."

The castle head guard was kneeling in front of him. His body broke out into a cold sweat out of fear of what would become of him.

"Take him away…"

"Please! Please forgive me your majesty!" he begged only to be ignored and dragged outside.

The two winglies, who kneeled behind him, shuddered. The reason they were still there was that they hadn't been in the dungeon at that time. They were not slaves, they were collaborators.

"I'm sorry, Geoffrey, I…" the dragoon boy apologized, but the king waved his hand, stopping him from doing so.

"Who is this Kruzra Yeefnur?" the king asked them.

"We… we don't know... But the Yeefnur is one of the 3 legendary wingly clans. However, I heard they no longer exist." answered one of the wingly.

"And what is that fiery sword that can knock a dragon down with one blow?" the boy asked.

"That must be the Dragon Buster. A legendary weapon made specially to kill dragons or dragoons, but I haven't heard anybody use it ever since the Dragon Campaign."

There was silence in the hall. A powerful wingly with a sword that could kill dragons was a huge threat.

"Your majesty, we must not let this wingly go to Serdio. If he ends up working for them, the consequence will be fatal." one of the ministers said.

"However, if anything happens to Princess Wink, there will be a revolt in Mille Seseau!" other retorted.

There was a huge debate regarding the action they should take. Should they risk Serdio gaining a powerful ally or should they risk losing Mille Seseau.

"Enough!" the king finally put an end to it, "Let me think about it."

* * *

It was the third night. Wink was barely able to sleep during this period. However, that night was the last and she couldn't sleep at all. So, she got up and walked outside, waiting for the signal that would determine her fate.

"You shouldn't walk around alone." Lloyd suddenly appeared and admonished her.

"I won't run…" she said.

"That's not it. You won't know if some winglies intend to hurt you."

"I can't sleep." she said nervously.

"Let's go outside." Lloyd said.

"But your wounds? You need to rest."

"I can't sleep either. Tonight would determine our next move."

Wink nodded and they went outside the cave.

Outside, they met Ilgu who was on night-watch.

"Kruzra? What are you doing here?" Ilgu asked.

"You can go to sleep. I'll watch here." Lloyd said.

"But you're still wounded! You need to rest. I'll notify everybody when we get our answer."

"I can't sleep anyway. It doesn't matter."

Well… If it's Kruzra, he wouldn't take no as an answer.

"Okay…"

Ilgu left the two… or at least they thought he left them.

Seriously! Just both of them at night under the starry sky. What could go wrong?!

The woman sat nervously, her hands grabbing her gown. Ilgu dropped his jaw when Kruzra put his bandaged hand on hers.

"You don't need to worry. No matter what his answer is, I swear I will protect you." he said.

Ilgu almost spluttered.

"It's not that! I just don't want you to get into conflict with your people because of me!" the woman said.

"My people?" Kruzra uttered the words with distaste, "They are not my people."

Ilgu's eyes widened when he heard that.

The woman was surprised, "How could you say that?"

"Just because I look like them physically doesn't mean I have any special obligation towards them. Neither do they towards me. I help them out of gratitude. Not because they are winglies."

There was a deafening silence for a moment before Kruzra continued,

"Wink, I didn't choose to be born this way. I refuse to accept any responsibility that comes with this identity. Please, don't ask any further."

Ilgu ran inside the cave. What the fuck did he just watch? So, that was how Kruzra passed the anti-wingly test. He simply didn't feel he was one of them! But, why? In everyone's eyes, Kruzra was a perfect wingly. He was physical and magical perfection. Everyone would like to be him, except himself.

Geoffrey had to accept their offer. Otherwise, Ilgu had a feeling bad things would happen. It didn't matter whether there was any sort of romantic feeling between Kruzra and that woman or not. Some winglies might try to hurt her if Geoffrey refused to let them go. If anything bad happened to her, Kruzra would definitely turn against them. Kruzra's loyalty didn't lie with the winglies. It lay with anyone he chose. In this case, it was with this human woman.

* * *

Wink was astounded by her newfound knowledge. She had learned many things about winglies. They were very loyal to the group. She knew Lloyd was different. She knew about his vision of a world where everyone could live together as equal. However, she didn't expect this rejection of identity. Meru also dreamed of the world he desired, but she wouldn't reject the idea of winglies as her people.

He also spoke like a Seseauan, which was… weird... She noticed he changed the way he spoke when taking to the winglies, though. It might be just to make her feel comfortable. However, she remembered he also spoke in the Seseauan dialect in the past.

Wink believed Lloyd had some issues with the winglies. She could sense the disdain in his voice. However, he wasn't entirely wrong. Humans, winglies, they didn't choose these people as their own. They were forced upon them and they were required to defend "their people" they had never chosen regardless of what they thought. Why limit "their people" to whom fate had decided for them?

_Mr. Lloyd… Is this what always burdens you? Sister Luanna said you are in pain._

There were many things she wanted to ask. She wanted to know more about him, but he had said no more questions.

"Anyway, Wink…, thank you… I should have said this earlier, but there are too many things going on these days." Lloyd said.

"It's fine…"

"Also… I'm sorry…"

"Mr. Lloyd…"

"I'm deeply sorry. I know I should pay for my sins. Perhaps, I would never be able to make up for it. However, I don't think I can do it now. I have to get these people out of here."

"You have paid enough. You saved the world by risking your life." she said.

He chuckled bitterly, "I just tried to fix the mess I started."

She said nothing. She knew no matter what she said, it wouldn't make him feel better.

"Anyway… Congratulation on your engagement... Although I cannot say I'm impressed by your choice."

She got up and walked a few steps.

"I didn't choose him. It was for the sake of the country." she said with her back towards him.

Lloyd suddenly felt like an idiot. Of course, she didn't choose him. Judging from her character, she couldn't possibly be in love with a genocidal asshole.

"I… I'm sorry… I didn't know…"

"It's fine…"

There were so many things they were missing during these years. So many questions remained unanswered out of fear of reopening the old wounds.

"I'm simply worried that his ambition would put you in a dangerous position."

Lloyd reached the back of his neck and took off his choker. It was the first time Wink realized it was a locket. Inside of it was a silver coin depicting a scale, surrounded by dark decorative glass. Wink had never seen such a beautiful coin. It was definitely not made by humans. Lloyd took the coin out and positioned it in front of her eyes.

"Take a look."

Wink took a closer look and saw small dots on the glassy part. They were like stars, moving so slowly. Eventually, the scale moved, too.

"It's beautiful." she said in amazement.

Lloyd took it back inside the locket,

"It's a memento from my adopted father to mark that I belong to the Yeefnur family so that no one would hurt me. Keep it." he said as he handed the choker to her.

"But this must be a very important item for you!" Wink argued.

"Yes, but I don't need it nowadays. However, I still expect you to return it to me when the conflict ends. If some winglies try to hurt you, show this to them. Tell them you're under the protection of Kruzra Yeefnur."

"Thank you." Wink blushed.

_To receive such an important item from Mr. Lloyd..._

Suddenly, light shone from the sky. It's the answer they had been waiting for…

* * *

This is one of my fav chapters. I need to hold myself from putting a long rant on this author's note. I'll let the fic speak for itself.


	11. Chapter 10

Thanks to Eii for the review!

LoD © Sony

Chapter 10

When he heard the sound of explosions, Ilgu ran outside again. Green fireworks exploded in the sky. They were the answer everyone had been waiting for. He quickly woke up the others and they all went outside. Everyone celebrated except Lloyd and Wink. They looked at each other with mixed feelings. They were glad everything went according to plan, but Lloyd was also worried Wink would return to a man he didn't trust. This would be a goodbye and they weren't sure when they would meet each other again.

"Thank you, Wink."

That's all he could say.

* * *

When they arrived at the border, the dragoon boy had already been waiting for them.

"Wink! Are you alright?"

The boy asked as he approached her, but Lloyd blocked him.

"I'm fine, Leo." Wink said.

"Hand her over!" the boy demanded threateningly.

"After everyone safely crosses the border." said Lloyd.

The boy gave a sign to the border guards to make a way for the winglies. Lloyd and Meru stood behind to make sure everyone passed safely.

After the last wingly passed the border, Meru nodded to Lloyd and followed them. Lloyd waited until they disappeared from his sight. He pushed Wink towards the boy. The guards tried to get him, but he quickly flew away.

Lloyd quickly caught up with the others. They had already encountered some Serdio soldiers who helped the evacuation process.

"We did it!"

Meru glomped him to the point they fell to the ground.

"I have been trying to do this for years and finally succeed thanks to you!"

Lloyd didn't react.

"Lloyd?"

He simply laid on the ground and kept his eyes closed.

"Oh My Soa! Somebody help!"

* * *

"He's fine. He's just overwork." the wingly doctor said.

Meru and Ilgu looked at the unconscious Lloyd with concern. The poor guy had been working on their escape plan nonstop for days and he was still wounded. No wonder he fainted.

Some winglies had been taken to Bale while Meru and Ilgu had decided to go to Lohan to treat Lloyd first since it was closer. They also had met Guaraha, Meru's fiance. He had been waiting anxiously at the border since Meru had taken a longer time to return than usual.

"So, that is Lloyd." Guaraha asked.

Meru nodded.

"Why do you keep calling him Lloyd?!" Ilgu asked.

"It's easier." said Meru.

Ilgu rolled his eyes.

Guaraha chuckled, "But from whom did he get the name?"

* * *

Wink returned to the castle and she was immediately greeted by Geoffrey.

"I thought I have lost you."

The blond king pulled her into an embrace.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked.

Wink shook her head, "I'm perfectly fine."

"Get some rest first. We can talk later." said Geoffrey.

Wink went to her chamber. There she saw her maid, Mika, crying.

"Mika?" Wink called her.

"My Lady! Oh my Soa?! Are you okay?" asked the plump woman.

"I'm fine."

"Dear Soa, you are so dirty. Let me prepare the bath for you."

"Thank you, Mika."

When Mika was away, Wink stored Lloyd's choker in a jewelry box and locked it inside her cabinet. She then waited for the maid to return.

Mika came back and took her to the bathroom. There, she helped her undress revealing the large scar on her back. Wink submerged herself into the water.

"The king was very worried, you know..." Mika said as she helped her scrub her back.

Wink didn't answer.

"Those damn winglies… Of all people, why did they have to take you?"

"He's not so bad…" Wink mumbled.

"My Lady! After all of these, you still defend them?! Dear Soa…, you are too nice…"

"Well, some winglies are good…" Wink argued.

"Yes, but… Aaarrrggghhh! Definitely not the one who kidnapped you!"

Well…, that's exactly whom she meant.

Mika kept talking the entire time about what happened in the castle when she was away. About how some ministers pressured Geoffrey to give up on her, but he insisted on saving her. About how much he loved her.

"Okay, we are done!"

Wink got out of the water. Mika helped her dry her body, then helped her dress. The maid took the dirty clothes outside and found the dragoon boy stand next to the door.

"Master Leo?"

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Hearing the boy's voice, Wink walked to the door,

"Leo? Please, come in!"

She took a seat on the sofa and signaled him to sit next to her. However, he kneeled instead.

"I'm sorry! I failed to protect you." he said.

Wink quickly helped him to his feet.

"Please, don't be like this, Leo! I'm fine!"

"Didn't they hurt you? I mean… the bloody letter…" he asked with glassy eyes.

Wink remembered Lloyd cut his own palm to draw blood.

She shook her head, "That's not my blood. It's Mr. L…" she paused, "Kruzra Yeefnur's."

Leo looked surprised, "I didn't expect a wingly to be that considerate towards humans."

"He made sure I wouldn't get hurt."

Leo must admit, he had grown some sort of respect for this Yeefnur guy. Even with the handicap from the anti-magic devices, he still fought like hell. Still…

"He hurt Aidan."

"Is he okay?" Wink asked.

"He will be okay… Aaarrrggghhh! It's all my fault! Why am I so useless?! First, I let Aidan get wounded and then I let you get kidnapped." he said as he buried his face in his palms, "I can't lose another person."

Wink pulled him into her embrace to comfort the boy. Leo lost his family to a winglies' attack in Donau. After that, he had become a street rat and had had to steal to survive. He was lucky that he had been recognized by Aidan, the red-eyed dragon, as the owner of his spirit, so he could have a better life. Many were less fortunate and died on the street. Well…, that's if being a child soldier was considered a good fortune.

The guards announced the king's visit. Wink and Leo got up to greet Geoffrey. The king quickly signaled them to sit again, but Leo decided to excuse himself, leaving the two alone.

"Are you alright? Anything hurt?" the king asked.

Wink shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

Wink nodded, "The blood on the letter wasn't mine."

"Thank Soa, but did they treat you with respect?"

Wink nodded.

"You spent some time with Kruzra Yeefnur. What kind of person is he? What is he to the winglies?"

The sudden shift of interest made her wary. She should be careful not to reveal too much about Lloyd, especially when it came to their past.

"All I could tell is he is an honorable person." Wink said.

"Keeping a woman as a hostage doesn't sound too honorable."

Well, at least, he had done it with her permission…

"You did bring me here as a hostage…" Wink retorted softly.

"That's…"

Geoffrey was startled by Wink's response. She had never brought it up before. Yes, Wink was technically a hostage, but…

"That's the past…"

After the uprising in Tiberoa, the turmoil eventually reached Mille Seseau. Eventually, Geoffrey invaded Mille Seseau and forced the queendom to surrender. To secure an alliance, he asked for a hand in marriage with one of the queen's adopted daughters. Wink accepted the proposal. She would go with him to Tiberoa with a condition that the marriage would wait until she was ready. Since, in the beginning, a wife was just a euphemism for a hostage, she agreed. However, he did grow to love her.

Wink had never judged anyone. She accepted them, no matter how wretched they were. She understood what he did was a necessary evil to protect the human race or so he thought. He tried his best not to expose her to the ugliness of the world. She might have seen something that she shouldn't have seen during her encounter with the winglies.

"Anyhow, I'm glad you're safe. I need to go back to work now."

"Can I ask one favor?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Please don't seek retaliation against the remaining winglies..."

Geoffrey was surprised, "Wink, I'll manage everything, okay? You don't need to concern yourself about it."

Wink wanted to argue, but Geoffrey raised his hand to signal her to stop. He then left her alone.

Wink had long numbed herself to the suffering of the winglies. First and foremost, her priority was to defend Mille Seaseu. The fact that Geoffrey had grown some sort of affection towards her was her good fortune. She, too, had learned to love these people. It made life easier.

However, the winglies' problem bothered her. She couldn't do anything. She thought she did something, but Lloyd's appearance had broken the illusion. She finally had seen the sickeningly thin winglies who could barely move and the hate on everyone's eyes when they saw her. She couldn't look away anymore from what Geoffrey had been hiding from her. Yet, she didn't know what to do and it's torturing her.

* * *

This is probably the end of the first part of this fic, so I guess I'll talk a bit.

Wink is a challenge to write because I don't want her to be the token love interest. I knew I have to give her some weaknesses to avoid writing her as some sort of Mary Sue. So, I decided to make her being too nice. That's her strength and weakness. If being a bystander was a crime, then she was a criminal. Please, don't judge her too harshly, though... :3 People are too judgy these days.

The opposite happened to her fiance. At first, I imagined him to be abusive, but, at some point, I changed my mind. I believe the decision to make him a dotting fiance was what led me to make Wink that way. I think giving the villain a voice is important. Apparently, he saw himself as the savior of humankind *chuckle*.

Meanwhile, we have the opposite with Lloyd who rejected the idea that, as an individual, he somehow had the obligation to save the winglies. I think we mostly see Lloyd from the perspective of others so far. This will change in the next part where we will see the world through his eyes.

This is my most ambitious fic to date. Not only due to the length, but also because this fic has turned into a mechanism to release my frustration, anger, and disappointment. I intend to violate every rule and defy what is to be expected from a story such as this. It's not something I plan from the start, but this Lloyd is just fit perfectly to the setup. At one point, I watched a Netflix series and realized Lloyd had the same backstory as one of the antagonists, even uttered the same dialogue and he was absolutely unapologetic about it. That was when I decided on the direction of this fic. I don't think I should talk much further as I want readers to discover themselves. I think I have already talked too much at this point. However, I'd like to put a quote that describes the mindset in which this fic is written:

"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn


	12. Interlude

First, I want to thanks DesiCat for the review.

Second,

Imo, the reason why Lloyd is the poster boy of LoD villain is that Melbu is a weak character. He had no clear motivation. What's the point of becoming the god of nothingness? That's why Lloyd or Doel is more interesting. So, let's give Melbu a bit of motivation!

Anyway, this Interlude consists entirely of FLASHBACK right after the end of disc 3. Normally, I put flashbacks at the beginning of a chapter, but this one is long and the next chapter will also be very long. So, I decided to separate it as some sort of prologue to part 2

LoD © Sony

Interlude

_I apologize for knocking you down. However, I knew you wouldn't listen to me. I need you to take time to control your emotion and calm yourself down._

_As you have now probably realized, I'm not Diaz. I'm Melbu Frahma. I know you aren't too fond of me. That's why I avoided introducing my real self to you. I'm not proud of what I did in the past. However, it was necessary._

_Between a small vulnerable society I was born into and the uncivilized horde that I pity, I did everything in my power to salvage both. In the end, I could only choose what I considered to be the lesser of two evils._

_You might have been raised among the latter. However, by now, you must have realized what they will do to the former when left unchecked. The so-called freedom and equality you were fighting for turned out to be the same nightmare you were fighting against. _

_That's also what I have experienced. _

_The winglies are losing their power. Once the wall falls, the tragedy that happened after the Dragon Campaign will repeat itself. I'm sure you haven't forgotten what happened to the late Lady Yeefnur._

_You trusted me, because you know I tell you the truth. There will be no end to this nightmare._

_Lloyd, _

_You, of all people, understand very well how broken the system is. We shouldn't be made to choose between one slavery over another. We deserve better. That's why this world needs to be smashed into pieces and rebuilt from scratch without people whose weaknesses breed insecurities and hench conflicts. _

_Unfortunately, I no longer have my wingly form. For that reason, I need you. Don't you realize how special you are? 11000 years and you barely aged! With your seed, we can start a new wingly civilization. We will have humans, too. Equally strong, but no longer breed like rabbits so as to not pose any threat to us._

_You might pity those people, but you should know better they are doomed to begin with. Sooner or later they will try to destroy each other. Think of it as an act of mercy. Spare them from the suffering they will bring to themselves._

_You know there is no other way that can lead to the world you desire._

_Melbu Frahma_

* * *

Lloyd crushed the paper in his hand. He couldn't believe Melbu still had the nerve to ask for reconciliation. That bastard knew his weakness, but Lloyd knew better now rather than to have his emotion clouded his judgment.

Or was he?

_He is right. There is no point in preserving this world that has never been kind to you. _\- a voice inside his head told him.

_Those despicable creatures deserve to perish for what they have done! _\- another voice said.

_They will do it again! They will do it again!_

_There is no hope..._

He put his hands on his ears to block those voices. Of course, it was no use since those voices were his own.

* * *

Okay, that's just a short interlude to the next part of the story.

This explained the question in chapter 2. Melbu indeed planned for Lloyd to restart the winged race. He tempted Lloyd once more. The question is whether this was how Melbu genuinely felt or whether this was just another attempt to manipulate Lloyd.

What's interesting is Lloyd was not entirely immune to the temptation. There was a side of him that really wanted to take that offer. We know the decision he made and he would have to live with the consequence. I think that speaks a lot about his character. We will discuss this more later, but this is a more mature Lloyd than the one that would sacrifice everything to achieve his goal. I believe this is the attitude that the world desperately needs right now. In line with the quote from the previous chapter:

"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Anyway, there's a hot discussion about transracial adoption. Accidentally, that's what this fic is all about. We know Lloyd's view from chapter 9. That's why I consider it to be the most important chapter to date although there's much more to it later.


	13. Chapter 11

This is the beginning of part 2. Just for the warning, I have a feeling the rating of this fic might go up to M in the future.

A friendly reminder, don't skip the interlude! It contains some important information.

LoD © Sony

Chapter 11

Lloyd opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of Meru's big eyes staring at him.

"He's awake!" she announced.

Ilgu and a male wingly whom he didn't know quickly entered the room. Ilgu quickly kneeled beside his bed and apologized.

"Kruzra, I'm so sorry!" Ilgu said with teary eyes.

Lloyd frowned but ignored it. He got himself into a sitting position.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"In an inn in Lohan. You fainted from exhaustion and slept for 3 days." Meru answered

Three days… No wonder he was starving.

He put his boots on and got up from the bed.

"Where are you going?" Meru asked.

"Get some food." he said.

However, Ilgu and Meru quickly pushed him back to the chair near the table.

"Aaah… You should just tell us" Meru said.

Ilgu and Meru got out, leaving him with a guy he wasn't familiar with.

"I'm Guaraha, Meru's fiance. Nice to meet you, Lloyd." he smiled.

"Oh, nice to meet you too."

"Meru talked a lot about you"

Lloyd sneered, "Oh really? I doubt they're pleasant."

Guaraha shook his head,

"We admire you! You traveled the human world alone, defying the rule, had some adventures to create a better world while everyone was hiding in the forest, kicked some asses, got a girl. Oh, Soa! You should tell me more about it!" his eyes were beaming.

Lloyd was dumbfounded. What's wrong with this guy? He had never expected anyone to view him that way. Also, what's up with getting a girl part?

Thankfully, Ilgu and Meru returned with some bread and saved him from a more awkward situation.

"Th...thank you…" Lloyd said hesitantly.

He was confused, why everyone was suddenly treating him nicely.

"Don't mention it! That's what friends are for!" Meru smacked Lloyd's back.

Friends?

_Haha! Do you really believe anyone wants to be your friend?_

_You, weirdo!_

"Go on, eat!" Ilgu said.

He started to eat. It felt a bit awkward to eat alone while having some people looking at him with a smile on their face, so he finished everything quickly and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Meru asked.

"I need some fresh air."

"I'll come with you!"

Meru said as she grabbed his arm. The sudden touch sent some sort of electricity through his body. He had never been touched by a stranger so sudden like that.

The girl waved her hand to her fiance. The boy waved back at her, smiling.

So, he walked around the town with a girl, who used to be his enemy, clinging on him. It felt so strange. However, that's not all of it. Some strangers started to greet them "good morning" or "how are you". Meru greeted them cheerfully while he just nodded at them.

The town was no longer the Lohan in Lloyd's memory. It now looked more like a wingly town with many platforms only reachable by flying. Also, it was really ugly, just like the wingly settlement post-Dragon Campaign.

"Why there's no human here?" he asked.

Meru stopped walking.

"Well, this is a wingly area, the humans are on the other side. Hahaha…" Meru laughed awkwardly as she scratched her head.

Lloyd cringed. So, the magical barrier separating both species were gone, but that didn't mean they mingled.

Suddenly, they were approached by some winglies who handed Lloyd some flowers and vegetables.

"Master Kruzra, please allow me to express my gratitude for saving my husband." said a female wingly.

"Me, too… You saved my sister!"

Lloyd was confused. He wasn't sure how to handle it when people started putting gifts on his hand.

"This is not necessary." he said.

However, soon he was holding too much stuff on his hands with more and more people surrounded him.

Seeing how her companion was in an awkward position, Meru interfered.

"Alright! Alright! If you want to thank him, just drop your gifts and fanmail in the inn. He has other things to do!" said Meru as she returned some of the gifts and dragged Lloyd away from the crowd to run away as quickly as possible.

They stopped running once they got away.

"Phew… Fans can be scary…" said Meru.

Lloyd didn't react. Instead, he stared at Meru.

"What? Is something wrong with my face?" she brought her palms to her face.

For a moment, he felt like he was being transported to the past.

_A freckled brunette girl dragged the raven hair boy away from the crowd of female admirers._

"_Alright! Alright! Please, make way! My brother still has a lot of work to do! If you have something to give, just leave it at our home."_

"Lloyd?" Meru waved her hand in front of his face.

He snapped out of his thoughts.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"No. Nevermind."

She grinned.

"Welcome to the human part of Lohan! Miss Meru would be your personal guide!" Meru said cheerfully.

Lloyd kept his face straight.

"Can't you at least act a bit excited?" Meru mumbled.

Lloyd just frowned.

"Come on!"

Meru pulled his hand. Lloyd stumbled a bit. They ran through the part of the town familiar to him to the game arena. Meru went to the ticket office.

"Yo, Meru! Long time no see!" the guy in the ticket stall greeted her.

"Yeah! Been busy lately!" she replied.

"Who is that? Your new boyfriend?"

Meru shook her head and waved her hand, "Just friend. Rob, this is Lloyd. Lloyd, this is Rob."

"Lloyd? Could it be Lloyd who won The Hero Competition 7 years ago? Oh My Soa! Yeah, It's you! It's been a long time and all winglies kinda look alike. I'm your fan! Can I have your autograph?"

The man handed him a paper and a quill. Lloyd was confused, but he simply signed it. He was pleasantly surprised to find that some humans were still friendly towards winglies. It seemed things were not as bad as he had imagined before.

"Here are 10 tickets as my thanks." he handed Lloyd 10 tickets.

Meanwhile, Meru's jaw dropped watching the scene that was unfolding before her. She didn't expect Lloyd was famous even among the humans!

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked her.

She got herself together and snatched the tickets from Lloyd.

"Yes! Let's play!"

She pushed him to one of the game stalls.

"What?" he asked

"Play!" she said.

He walked away, "You play. I'll wait."

However, Meru pushed him again.

"C'mon!"

"Why don't you do it yourself?!" Lloyd said, slightly annoyed.

"Because I always lose. There is a hairband I really want and they don't sell it anywhere else. Pleaaaseee…!" she said with puppy dog eyes.

_"Play with me, brother! Pleaaaseee…!"_

Lloyd sighed, "Just this once…"

"Yay!" Meru jumped in excitement.

It wasn't too bad. He just needed to guess which guy had the bird hidden under his head. He could easily guess the right one.

"Satisfied? He asked.

"We need 50 tickets." said Meru.

"What the fuck?!"

"Please…" Meru grinned apologetically.

Lloyd rolled his eyes and repeated the game. It turned out he was really good and guessed everything correctly. That bored Meru and she pulled him to the next stall where he needed to memorize the decor and find the differences. He won on the first try. Meru and the guy who worked there gave him small applause.

Meru then dragged him to the obstacle course.

"Let's do this one!" she said.

Lloyd immediately said, "No."

"Pleeeaaassseee!"

"No!"

"This one gives more tickets. Just 1 more time and we are done!"

"..."

In the end, Lloyd gave up and did it. And he did it very well. Meru was astounded. She expected he would get hit and she could laugh at him, but no.

"Congratulation! You're the first person who won on the first try!"

The owner of the stall threw him some confetti. It was super awkward.

"Here are your tickets!" he handed them 3 tickets.

Lloyd glared at Meru, "You lied to me!"

Meru ran away as Lloyd chased her.

"We have enough tickets now!"

She stopped in front of the ticket office and traded them with a cute hairband. Lloyd rolled his eyes. He had been taken advantage of.

"Thank you, Lloyd!"

Meru suddenly gave him a peck on the cheek. Lloyd sighed in defeat.

"You did much better than Dart and Guaraha." she said.

"Oh, that sounds comforting." he said sarcastically.

"Come! Miss Meru will treat you to dinner!"

Meru took him to a tavern. Again, the owner greeted them warmly.

"You got a new friend?" the owner asked.

"Not really new. An old one!" she said.

"Wait! Aren't you Lloyd?!"

Meru went agape. How could everyone know Lloyd?!

"I was a fan of yours. Well, I still am! Can I have your autograph? I'll give you free food in exchange."

And so, Meru's plan to treat Lloyd was in ruin.

After they were done with the autographing business, the owner took their order.

"What do you want to eat?"

"I'd like a pork medallion!" Meru said.

Lloyd looked at her in surprise.

"And you?" she asked Lloyd.

"Same."

This time, it was Meru who was surprised.

"Wait! Wait! I'd take creamy chicken!"

She wouldn't take the same stuff as him…

"Alright!" the owner said.

Once the owner left, Meru spoke to him,

"You naughty wingly." Meru said teasingly.

"I just followed your example, Miss."

"You're lying! You must have done it before!"

Lloyd just smirked. Meru wasn't a bad companion after all...

"Does your fiance know?" he asked.

"Uh-huh..."

"And he is okay with it?"

"Nah, he doesn't care as long as I don't ask him to eat it."

Lloyd was pleased by the answer. Maybe, things weren't entirely hopeless. These young winglies were different. The humans were also different. Still, some things bothered him.

"Are we the only winglies here?" he asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Why?"

"Well…, they are afraid. I guess… Someone got beaten once."

"And you are not?"

"Meru beat the crap out of those bastards and then we beat them also." one of the guests suddenly joined in.

Everyone laughed, except Lloyd who seemed astonished by the answer.

"And what will happen if humans enter winglies territory?" Lloyd asked.

Although he had already guessed the answer...

"Nothing, really. Haha..." Meru answered, "Well, maybe there are some old fashioned winglies, but most simply don't care actually."

Even if nothing would happen, people didn't want to go out of their comfort zone. That's understandable. Nobody would like to stick out like a sore thumb and accidentally got beaten by some nutty militants. However, what would it mean for the future?

The food came. Meru cut a large piece of her food and put it on Lloyd's plate. She then stole one of his medallions. Lloyd just watched her enjoying herself.

"Tell me, Lloyd. How did you survive?" Meru asked.

"... Luck, I guess?"

"Luck?"

"I met Rose. She saved me."

"Rose? Why?"

"Her boyfriend felt guilty for ruining my life."

He paused for a moment,

"Well, to be fair, I ruined my own life." he chuckled bitterly.

Meru shook his head, "It was Melbu Frahma. You were just being lied to because you want a better world for everyone."

"You don't know me, Miss. I did what I did for a selfish reason."

"Then tell me about yourself! We are friends! I should know more about you."

Lloyd laughed, "Friends? Miss, we almost killed each other last time."

Meru brushed it off,

"That's a misunderstanding. I may not always agree with your way of doing things, but don't you think we have more in common with each other than with other winglies? I mean, that's why we are sitting here right now." she said with a tone that was uncharacteristic of her.

Lloyd realized Meru was right. Despite her easy-going nature, he could tell she was lonely. She loved her human friends, but they didn't go through what she experienced as a wingly who liked humans. The winglies might tolerate her antics, but they couldn't understand her.

"I understand your feelings. However, there are things I wish to keep to myself. All I can tell you is you are right about us being similar to a certain extent."

"Does that mean we are friends?"

Lloyd shrugged, "If you insist…"

Meru jumped from her chair and hugged Lloyd from the back.

"We should drink to celebrate this!" Meru said.

"Finish your food first!"

Meru returned to her seat and continued eating.

"Lloyd, what do you plan to do next?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He had considered surrendering himself to the authority. However, with the current situation, it suddenly sounded stupid. He wasn't too fond of life, but he wasn't suicidal either. He also knew better than playing hero again. He probably would just go back to his mundane life before all the utopia drama.

"I don't know… Get a job, probably. I need to keep myself alive."

_But not really living…_

Despite understanding the extent of evil he had done, he didn't entirely regret it. It was the few moments in his life when he felt living. A rare moment when he finally had a purpose in his life.

"What about going with us to Bale? We can ask Albert for a job. He needs winglies he can trust right now."

Lloyd almost choked himself hearing that,

"Are you kidding?! Didn't they tell you what happened the last time I worked for him?"

"Huh? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay…, but will you come with us? I don't want to lose a new friend."

Lloyd had to admit to himself, he sort of enjoyed Meru's company. He reminded him of someone from his past. Someone who liked being around him, showered him with affection, and treasured him without trying to get into his pants. However, above all...,

Meru was different. Just like him.

Maybe, it's not a bad idea…

"Alright…" he said.

"Yay! Let's drink to celebrate this!"

Hours later, he regretted drinking with Meru as he ended up carrying her on his back. He thought Meru could drink! However, she got drunk after drinking just a half glass.

"Lloyd! I'm so happy to meet you!" she shouted.

"Shut up, Meru! You don't want any wingly to see you like this!" said Lloyd, half whispering.

Good thing it was late and nobody was on the street. He didn't want to deal with winglies being horrified seeing a young wingly girl being drunk after violating the dietary requirement. She was too excited to find a partner in crime.

"I always want a big brother." she mumbled as she circled her arms around his neck.

Lloyd stopped walking.

Was it bad that he started having hope?

Maybe…, just maybe..., things had changed. Now that the humans knew the winglies existed, they wouldn't be afraid of someone who doesn't age after decades. Maybe the winglies wouldn't be so judgemental towards those who didn't live the way they did anymore… Maybe he could finally settle and live a normal life.

He had been living among humans for thousands of years. He simply couldn't stand living with winglies, their boring diets, their rigid lifestyle, but most of all the way they looked down on the ones he loved. So, he had left and wandered the human world. However, that came with a price.

He couldn't settle.

Otherwise, they would realize he wasn't human since he didn't age.

In the beginning, wandering the world was quite fun. However, he soon got tired of it. By tiring, he really meant it was more than just boring but punishingly exhausting. There was neither certainty nor familiarity in his life. He had to constantly move. If he liked the room he rented, he should always prepare to leave.

He couldn't build a career, which meant no stable income. Most of the time, he did lowly mercenary jobs or hunting which were enough for living. Sometimes, when he was lucky, he would get a nice job in the palace, but soon he would have to abandon it. However, there were times, hard times, when he was shunned as a foreigner and the only job available was the jobs that no one else wanted. Or even being chased out of town, because they believed someone with white hair brought death.

However, that wasn't the most punishing aspect of that lifestyle. After living a nomadic life for a while, he learned that a relationship with others was simply impossible. He would leave anyway, so what's the point of having one when he knew it would end up with a heartbreaking separation? It had turned his heart into stone. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to handle it.

He had no family, no friends, no job, no purpose, no home. The true definition of having no life. He was merely a wandering ghost.

Meru reminded him of the time when he had been human. When he had a family and a home. He was poor and yet he had his own bed made out of a pile of straw and rags that he collected. He collected shits that had no values, but somehow he found it interesting to decorate his space. He had been extremely poor, yet he had had more than this ghost who only had what he carried on his body. When you're constantly moving, there was no point in owning anything.

Between the hope for a better life and the pressure to atone. He didn't know what to expect.

When they arrived at the inn, Guaraha was waiting for them.

"Oh, Meru! What have you done?"

Meru was too drunk to answer. They quickly brought her to her room and laid her down on the bed.

"Thank you for bringing her back." Guaraha said.

"No problem. Sorry, I shouldn't let her drink." said Lloyd.

"Nah, not your fault. No one would be able to stop her from doing what she wanted to do."

"I'll leave her to you, then."

Lloyd gave Meru one last glance. The voice of his sister playing in his head.

* * *

What a long chapter!

Lloyd came back to pay for what he had done, but he found himself in a hero position with a bunch of adoring fans. Lol.

Also… I think Lloyd didn't know they could buy tickets with money. Lol.

I made enough hints that Lloyd was being sexually objectified by the females and that made him feel uncomfortable.

But perhaps the most important is Lloyd's lifestyle. Imagine the feeling of going back home after a long trip, of finally sleeping on your own bed and using your own toilet. Lloyd had none of those because he couldn't fit in.

I talked about transracial adoption previously and some "anti-racists" (WITH QUOTES) said that adoption of a child from a different racial background should only be done if the parents raised the child within the culture of the child's racial group. Lloyd here wants to have some words with you. Again, let's look back to chapter 9. It's when Lloyd asserted himself as an individual who refused to be a slave to his racial background. Lloyd lived the way he wanted to live, ate what he wanted to eat. He treasured his individual freedom and independence and he would not trade it for societal acceptance. There is something thicker than blood that he was unwilling to give up even though he had to pay a heavy price for it. This is a story about an individual who struggled to break away from the boundary of race and culture.

At its core, this fic is about rebellion against social expectations. Both the expectation of the characters and, as I have said before, people in real life.

I have told myself again and again that I should not write too much author note, because it is more rewarding if the readers can make their own conclusion. However, I also feel it is getting harder to resist the need to express myself. As we see here, transracial adoption caused a lot of challenges for Lloyd. However, to assume that biological difference somehow led to a less meaningful relationship, I think that is a very cynical worldview.


End file.
